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ROUND    THE    WORLD 


BY 

ANDREW    CARNEGIE 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

1884 


Copyright,  1884, 
By  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS. 


PRESS  OF    J.    J.    LITTLE   8i  CO., 
NOS,   10    TO  20    ASTOR  PLACE,    NEW  TORK. 


TO    MY    BROTHER 

AND  TRUSTY  ASSOCIATES, 

WHO    TOILED    AT    HOME    THAT    I    MIGHT    SPEND    ABROAD, 

THESE    NOTES    ARE    AFFECTIONATELY    INSCRIBED 

BY    THE 
GRATEFUL    AUTHOR. 

Braemar  Cottage,  Cresson,  July,  1879. 


PREFACE, 


It  seems  almost  unnecessary  to  say  that  ^'Ro7ind 
the  World"  like  ''An  American  Four-in-Hand 
in  Britain"  was  origi^ially  printed  for  private  cir- 
culation. Aly  publishc7's  having  asked  permission 
to  give  it  to  the  public,  I  have  been  induced  to 
undertake  the  slight  revision,  and  to  make  some 
additions  necessary  to  Jit  the  original  for  general 
circulation,  not  so  much  by  the  favorable  reception 
accorded  to  the  "  Four-in-Hand,"  in  England  as 
well  as  in  America,  nor  eveji  by  the  flattering 
words  of  the  critics  who  have  dealt  so  kindly  with 
it,  but  chiefly  because  of  maiiy  valued  letters  which 
entire  strangers  have  bee7i  so  extremely  good  as  to 
take  the  trouble  to  write  to  me,  and  which  indeed 
are  still  coming  almost  daily.  Some  of  these  are 
f^07n  invalids  who  tha7ik  me  for  maki7ig  the  days 
duri7ig  which  they  read  the  book  pass  77tore  brightly 
tha7i  before.  Can  any  knowledge  be  sweeter  to  07ie 
than  this?      These  letters  are  precious  to  77ie,  a7id 


vi  Preface. 

it  is  their  writers  tvho  a7X  mainly  responsible  for 
this  second  volume,  especially  since  some  who  have 
thus  written  have  asked  where  it  could  be  obtaijied 
and  I  have  no  copies  to  send  to  them,  which  it  woitld 
have  giveii  me  a  rare  pleasure  to  be  able  to  do. 

I  hope  they  will  like  it  as  they  did  the  other. 
Some  friends  consider  it  better ;  others  prefer  the 
'' Four-in-Hand'^  I  timik  them  different.  While 
coaching  I  was  more  joyously  happy  ;  dui'ing  the 
journey  round  the  World  I  was  gaining  more 
knowledge  ;  but  if  my  readers  like  me  half  as  well 
in  the  latter  as  in  the  former  mood,  I  shall  have 
op.ly  too  much  cause  to  subscribe  myself  with  sin- 
cere thanks, 

Most  gratefully^ 

The  Author. 


ROUND   THE   WORLD. 


"Think  on  thy  friends  when  thou  haply  see'st 
Some  rare,  noteworthy  object  in  thy  travels, 
Wish  them  partakers  of  thy  happiness." 


ROUND    THE    WORLD. 


New  York,  Saturday,  October  12,  1878. 

Bang  !  click !  the  desk  closes,  the  key  turns,  and 
good-bye  for  a  year  to  my  wards — that  goodly  cluster 
over  which  I  have  watched  with  parental  solicitude  for 
many  a  day ;  their  several  cribs  full  of  records  and 
labelled  Union  Iron  Mills,  Lucy  Furnaces,  Keystone 
Bridge  Works,  Union  Forge,  Cokevale  Works,  and  last, 
but  not  least,  that  infant  Hercules,  the  Edgar  Thomson 
Steel  Rail  Works — good  lusty  bairns  all,  and  well  cal- 
culated to  survive  in  the  struggle  for  existence — great 
things  are  expected  of  them  in  the  future,  but  for  the 
present  I  bid  them  farewell;  I'm  off  for  a  holiday,  and 
the  rise  and  fall  of  iron  and  steel  "  affecteth  me  not." 

Years  ago,  Vandy,  Harry,  and  I,  standing  in  the  very 
bottom  of  the  crater  of  Mount  Vesuvius,  where  we  had 
roasted  eggs  and  drank  to  the  success  of  our  next  trip, 
resolved  that  some  day,  instead  of  turning  back  as  we 
had  then  to  do,  we  would  make  a  tour  round  the  Ball. 
My   first    return    to    Scotland    and    journey    through 

1 


2  Roitnd  the   World. 

Europe  was  an  epoch  in  my  life,  I  had  so  early  in  my 
days  determined  to  do  it ;  to-day  another  epoch  comes 
— our  tour  fulfils  another  youthful  aspiration.  There  is  a 
sense  of  supreme  satisfaction  in  carrying  out  these  early 
dreams  which  I  think  nothing  else  can  give,  it  is  such  a 
triumph  to  realize  one's  castles  in  the  air.  Other  dreams 
remain,  which  in  good  time  also  must  come  to  pass ;  for 
nothing  can  defeat  these  early  inborn  hopes,  if  one  lives, 
and  if  death  comes  there  is,  until  the  latest  day,  the  ex- 
altation which  comes  from  victory  if  one  but  continues 
true  to  his  guiding  star  and  manfully  struggles  on. 

And  now  what  to  take  for  the  long  weary  hours !  for 
travellers  know  that  sight-seeing  is  hard  work,  and  that 
the  ocean  wave  may  become  monotonous.  I  cannot 
carry  a  whole  library  with  me.  Yes,  even  this  can  be 
done ;  mother's  thoughtfulness  solves  the  problem,  for 
she  gives  me  Shakespeare,  in  thirteen  small  handy  vol- 
umes. Come,  then,  my  Shakespeare,  you  alone  of  all  the 
mighty  past  shall  be  my  sole  companion.  I  seek  none 
else ;  there  is  no  want  when  you  are  near,  no  mood  when 
you  are  not  welcome — a  library  indeed,  and  I  look  for- 
ward with  great  pleasure  to  many  hours'  communion 
with  you  on  lonely  seas — a  lover  might  as  well  sigh  for 
more  than  his  affianced  as  I  for  any  but  you.  A  twitch 
of  conscience  here.  You  ploughman  bard,  who  are  so 
much  to  me,  are  you  then  forgotten  ?  No,  no,  Robin,  no 
need  of  taking  you  in  my  trunk;  I  have  you  in  my  heart, 
from  "  A  man's  a  man  for  a  that  "  to  "  My  Nannie's  awa'." 


O3 
CO  or 


Fast  Horses.  3 

Pittsburgh,  Thursday,  October  17. 
What  is  this?  A  telegram!  "  Belgic  sails  from  San 
Francisco  24th  instead  of  28th."  Can  we  make  it  ? 
Yes,  travelHng  direct  and  via  Omaha,  and  not  seeing 
Denver  as  intended.  All  right  !  through  we  go,  and 
here  we  are  at  St.  Louis  Friday  morning,  and  off  for 
Omaha  to  catch  the  Saturday  morning  train  for  San 
Francisco.  If  we  miss  but  one  connection  we  shall 
reach  San  Francisco  too  late.  But  we  sha'n't.  Having 
courted  the  fickle  goddess  assiduously,  and  secured  her 
smiles,  we  are  not  going  to  lose  faith  in  her  now,  come 
what  may.  See  if  our  good  fortune  doesn't  carry  us 
through ! 


Omaha,  Saturday,  October  19. 
All  aboard  for  "  Frisco  !  " 

A  train  of  three  Pullmans,  all  well  filled — but  what 

is  this   shift    made  for,  at   the  last  moment,  when  we 

thought  we  were   off?     Another   car   to    be   attached, 

carrying  to  the  Pacific  coast   Rarus  and  Sweetzer,  the 

fastest   trotter  and   pacer,  respectively,   in   the   world. 

How  we  advance  !    Shades  of  Flora  Temple  and  "  2.40 

on  the  plank  road ! "     That  was  the  cry  when  first  I 

took  to  horses — that  is,  to  owning  them.     At  a  much 

earlier  age  I  was  stealing  a  ride  on  every  thing  within 

reach  that  had  four  legs  and  could  go.     One  takes  to 

horseflesh  by  inheritance.     Rarus  now  goes  in  2.133^, 

and   Ten    Broeck   beats   Lexington's   best   time  many 

seconds.     I  saw  him  do  it.     And  so  in  this  fast  age, 


4  Ro7ind  the   World. 

second  by  second,  we  gain  upon  old  Father  Time. 
Even  since  this  was  written  more  than  another  second 
has  been  knocked  off.  America  leads  the  world  in  trot- 
ters, and  will  probable  do  so  in  running  horses  as  well, 
when  we  begin  to  develop  them  in  earnest.  Our  soft 
roads  are  favorable  for  speed ;  the  English  roads  would 
ruin  a  fast  horse. 

We  traverse  all  day  a  vast  prairie  watered  by  the 
Platte.  Nothing  could  be  finer:  such  fields  of  corn 
standing  ungathered,  such  herds  of  cattle  grazing  at 
will !  It  is  a  superb  day,  and  the  russet-brown  mantle  in 
which  Nature  arrays  herself  in  the  autumn  never 
showed  to  better  advantage ;  but  in  all  directions  we 
see  the  prairies  on  fire.  Farmers  burn  them  over  as  the 
easiest  mode  of  getting  rid  of  the  rank  weeds  and  un- 
dergrowth ;  but  it  seems  a  dangerous  practice.  They 
plough  a  strip  twenty  to  thirty  feet  in  width  around 
their  houses,  barns,  hay-stacks,  etc.,  and  depend  upon 
the  flames  not  overleaping  this  barrier. 

Third  night  out,  and  we  are  less  fatigued  than  at 
the  beginning.  The  first  night  upon  a  sleeping-car  is 
the  most  fatiguing.  Each  successive  one  is  less  weari- 
some, and  ere  the  fifth  or  sixth  comes  you  really  rest 
well.     So  much  for  custom  ! 


Sunday,  October  20. 
All  day  long  we  have  been   passing   through   the 
grazing  plains  of  Nebraska.    Endless  herds  of  cattle  un- 


Cattle  Raising.  5 

trammelled  by  fences ;  the  landscape  a  brown  sea  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach ;  a  rude  hut  now  and  then  for  a 
shelter  to  the  shepherds.  No  wonder  we  export  beef, 
for  it  is  fed  here  for  nothing.  Horses  and  cattle  thrive 
on  the  rich  grasses  as  if  fed  on  oats ;  no  flies,  no  mos- 
quitoes, nothing  to  disturb  or  annoy,  while  the  pellucid 
streams  which  run  through  the  ranches  furnish  the  best 
of  water.  There  can  be  no  question  that  our  export 
trade  is  still  in  its  infancy.  The  business  is  now  fully 
organized,  and  is  subject  to  well-known  rules.  At 
Sherman  we  saw  the  large  show-bills  of  the  Wycoming 
County  Cattle  Raisers'  Association,  offering  heavy  re- 
wards for  offenders  against  these  rules,  and  the  Chey- 
enne Herald  is  filled  with  advertisements  of  the  various 
"  marks "  adopted  by  different  owners.  Large  profits 
have  been  made  in  the  trade — the  best  assurance  that  it 
will  grow — but  from  all  I  can  gather  it  seems  doubtful 
whether  the  experiment  of  exporting  cattle  alive  will 
succeed. 

We  saw  numerous  herds  of  antelope  to-day,  but  they 
graze  among  the  cattle,  and  are  altogether  too  finely 
civilized  to  meet  our  idea  of  "  chasing  the  antelope 
over  the  plain  ;  "  one  might  as  well  chase  a  sheep.  As 
night  approaches  we  get  higher  and  higher  up  the  far- 
famed  Rocky  Mountains,  and  before  dark  reach  the 
most  elevated  point,  at  Sherman,  eight  thousand  feet 
above  tide.  But  our  preconceived  notions  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  derived  from  pictures  of  Fremont  ci  la  Na- 


6  Round  the    World. 

poleon  crossing  the  Alps,  have  received  a  rude  shock ; 
we  only  climb  high  plains — not  a  tree,  nor  a  peak,  nor 
a  ravine ;  when  at  the  top  we  are  but  on  level  ground 
— a  brown  prairie,  "  only  this,  and  nothing  more." 


Tuesday,  October  22. 

Desolation !  In  the  great  desert  !  It  extends  south- 
ward to  Mexico  and  northward  to  British  Columbia, 
and  is  five  hundred  miles  in  width.  Rivers  traverse  it 
only  to  lose  themselves  in  its  sands,  there  being  no 
known  outlet  for  the  waters  of  this  vast  basin.  What 
caverns  must  exist  below  capable  of  receiving  them! 
and  whither  do  they  finally  go  ? 

At  the  station  we  begin  to  meet  a  mixture  of  Chi- 
nese and  Indians — Shoshones,  Piutes,  and  Winnemuc- 
cas.  The  Chinamen  are  at  work  on  the  line,  and  appear 
to  be  very  expert.  At  Ogden  we  get  some  honey 
grapes — the  sweetest  I  ever  tasted.  It  is  midnight  be- 
fore we  are  out  of  the  desert. 

We  are  up  early  to  see  the  Sierras.  My  first  glimpse 
was  of  a  ravine  resembling  very  much  the  Alleghany 
Gap  below  Bennington — going  to  bed  in  a  desert  and 
awaking  to  such  a  view  was  a  delightful  surprise  indeed. 
We  are  now  running  down  the  western  slope  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  miles  from  San  Francisco,  with 
mines  on  both  sides,  and  numerous  flumes  which  tell  of 
busy  times.  Halloa  !  what's  this  ?  Dutch  Flat.  Shades 
of  Bret  Harte,  true  child  of  genius,  what  a  pity  you 


Bret  Harte  and  Tennyson.  7 

ever  forsook  these  scenes  to  dwindle  in  the  foreign  air 
of  the  Atlantic  coast  !  A  whispering  pine  of  the  Sierras 
transplanted  to  Fifth  Avenue  !  How  could  it  grow  ? 
Although  it  shows  some  faint  signs  of  life,  how  sickly- 
are  the  leaves !  As  for  fruit,  there  is  none.  America 
had  in  Bret  Harte  its  most  distinctively  national  poet. 
His  reputation  in  Europe  proved  his  originality.  The 
fact  is,  American  poets  have  been  only  English  "  with 
a  difference."  Tennyson  might  have  written  the  "  Psalm 
of  Life,"  Browning  "  Thanatopsis,"  but  who  could  have 
written  "Her  Letter,"  or  "Flynn  of  Virginia,"  or  ''Jim," 
or  "  Chiquita "  ?  An  American,  flesh  and  bone,  and 
none  other.  If  the  East  would  only  discard  him,  as 
Edinburgh  society  did  his  greater  prototype,  he  might 
be  forced  to  return  to  his  "  native  heath  "  in  poverty, 
and  rise  again  as  the  first  truly  American  poet.  But 
poets,  and  indeed  great  artists  as  a  class,  seem  to  yield 
their  best  only  under  pressure.  The  grape  must  be 
crushed  if  we  would  have  wine.  Give  a  poet  "  society  " 
at  his  feet  and  he  sings  no  more,  or  sings  as  Tennyson 
has  been  singing  of  late  years — fit  strains  to  prepare  us 
for  the  disgrace  he  has  brought  upon  the  poet's  calling. 
Poor,  weak,  silly  old  man !  Forgive  him,  however,  for 
what  he  has  done  when  truly  the  poet.  He  was  no- 
ble then  and  didn't  know  it ;  now  he  is  a  sham  noble 
and  knows  it.  Punishment  enough  that  he  stands  no 
more  upon  the  mountain  heights  o'ertopping  the  petty- 
ambitions  of  English  life, 


8  Round  the   World. 

"  With  his  garlands 
And  his  singing  robes  about  him." 

His  poet's  robes,  alas!  are  gone.  Room,  now,  for  the 
masquerader  disguised  as  a  British  peer !  Place,  next 
the  last  great  vulgar  brewer  or  unprincipled  political 
trimmer  in  that  motley  assembly,  the  House  of  Lords  ! 

The  weather  is  superb,  the  sky  cloudless ;  the  train 
stops  to  allow  us  to  see  the  celebrated  Cape  Horn  ;  the 
railroad  skirts  the  edge  of  the  mountain,  and  we  stand 
upon  a  precipice  two  thousand  feet  high,  smaller  moun- 
tains enclosing  the  plain  below,  and  the  American  River 
running  at  our  feet.  It  is  very  fine,  indeed,  but  the 
grandeur  between  Pack  Saddle  and  San  Francisco,  with 
the  exception  of  the  entrance  to  Weber  Canon  and 
a  few  miles  in  the  vicinity,  is  all  here ;  as  a  whole,  the 
scenery  on  the  Pacific  Railroad  is  disappointing  to  one 
familiar  with  the  Alleghanies. 

At  Colfax,  two  hundred  miles  from  San  Francisco, 
we  stop  for  breakfast  and  have  our  first  experience  of 
fresh  California  grapes  and  salmon ;  the  former  black 
Hamburgs  not  to  be  excelled  by  the  best  hot-house 
grapes  of  England ;  and  what  a  bagful  for  a  quarter ! 
We  tried  the  native  white  wine  at  dinner,  and  found  it 
a  fair  Sauterne.  With  such  grapes  and  climate,  it  must 
surely  be  only  a  question  of  a  few  years  before  the  true 
American  wine  makes  its  appearance,  and  then  what 
shall  we  have  to  import?  Silks  and  woollens  are  going, 
watches  and  jewelry  have  already  gone,  and  in  this  con- 


Sacramento.  9 

nection  I  think  I  may  venture  to  say  good-bye  to  foreign 
iron  and  steel ;  cotton  goods  went  long  ago.  Now  if 
wines,  and  especially  champagne — that  creature  of  fash- 
ion— should  go,  what  shall  we  have  to  tax  ?  What  if 
America,  which  has  given  to  mankind  so  many  political 
lessons,  should  be  destined  to  show  a  government  living 
up  to  the  very  highest  dictate  of  political  economy,  viz., 
supported  by  direct  taxation !  No,  there  remain  our 
home  products,  whiskey  and  tobacco ;  let  us  be  satisfied 
to  do  the  next  best  thing  and  make  these  pay  the  entire 
cost  of  government.  The  day  is  not  far  distant  when 
out  of  these  two  so-called  luxuries  we  shall  collect  all  our 
taxes ;  and  those  virtuous  citizens  who  use  neither  shall 
escape  scot-free.  Although  these  sentences  were  writ- 
ten years  ago,  now  since  we  approach  the  threshold  of 
fulfilment  I  am  not  sure  that  upon  the  whole  the  total 
abolition  of  the  internal  revenue  system  is  not  prefer- 
able. We  should  thus  dispense  with  four  thousand 
officials.     In  government,  the  fewer  the  better. 

No  greater  contrast  can  be  imagined  than  that  from 
the  barren  desert  to  the  fertile  plains  below ;  oleanders 
and  geraniums  greet  us  with  their  welcome  smiles ; 
grapes,  pears,  peaches,  all  in  profusion  ;  we  are  indeed  in 
the  Italy  of  America  at  last,  and  Sacramento  is  reached 
by  half-past  ten.  Since  the  great  flood  which  almost 
ruined  it  some  years  ago,  extensive  dykes  have  been 
built,  walling  in  the  city,  which  so  far  have  proved  a 
sufficient    barrier   against   the   rapid    swellings   of   the 


lo  Round  the   World. 

American  River,  that  pours  down  its  torrents  from  the 
mountains ;  but  if  Sacramento  be  now  secure  against 
flood,  it  is  certainly  vulnerable  to  the  attacks  of  the  not 
less  terrible  demon  of  fire.  Such  a  mass  of  combustible 
material  piled  together  and  called  a  city  I  never  saw 
before :  it  is  a  tinder-box,  and  we  are  to  hear  of  its 
destruction  some  day.  Prepare  for  an  extra  :  "  Great 
fire  in  Sacramento;  the  city  in  ashes;"  but  then,  don't 
let  us  call  it  accidental. 

What  a  valley  we  rush  through  for  the  hundred  miles 
which  separate  Sacramento  from  San  Francisco  !  It  is 
about  sixty  miles  wide,  and  as  level  as  a  billiard-table. 
Here  are  the  famous  wheat  fields :  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach  on  either  side  we  see  nothing  but  the  golden  straw 
standing,  minus  the  heads  of  wheat  which  have  been  cut 
off,  the  straw  being  left  to  be  burned  down  as  a  fertilizer. 
Fancy  a  Western  prairie,  substitute  golden  grain  for 
corn,  and  you  have  before  you  the  California  harvest  ; 
for  four  hundred  miles  this  valley  extends,  and  it  is  wheat 
from  one  end  to  the  other — nothing  but  wheat.  Granted 
sufficient  rain  in  the  rainy  season — that  is,  from  Novem- 
ber till  February — and  the  husbandman  seeks  nothing 
more ;  Nature  does  all  the  rest,  and  a  bountiful  harvest 
is  a  certainty.  In  some  years  there  is  a  scarcity  of  rain, 
but  to  provide  against  even  this  sole  remaining  con- 
tingency the  rivers  have  but  to  be  properly  used  for 
irrigation ;  with  this  done,  the  wheat  crop  of  the  Pa- 
cific coast  will    outstrip  in   value,  year  after  year,  all 


Oakla7id. 


II 


the  gold  and  silver  that  can  be  mined.  Douglas  Jer- 
rold's  famous  saying  applies  to  no  other  land  so  well  as 
to  this,  for  it  indeed  needs  only  *'  to  be  tickled  with  a 
hoe  to  smile  with  a  harvest." 

We  reached  Oakland,  the  Jersey  City  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, on  time  to  the  minute ;  the  ferry-boat  starts,  and 
there  lies  before  us  the  New  York  of  the  Pacific :  but  in- 
stead of  the  bright  sparkling  city  we  had  pictured,  sink- 
ing to  rest  with  its  tall  spires  suffused  by  the  glories  of 
the  setting  sun,  imagine  our  surprise  when  not  even  our 
own  smoky  Pittsburgh  could  boast  a  denser  canopy  of 
smoke.  A  friend  who  had  kindly  met  us  upon  arrival  at 
Oakland  tried  to  explain  that  this  was  not  all  smoke ; 
it  was  mostly  fog,  and  a  peculiar  wind  which  sometimes 
had  this  effect  ;  but  we  could  scarcely  be  mistaken  upon 
that  point.  No,  no,  Mr.  O'B.,  you  may  know  all  about 
"Frisco,"  the  Chinese,  the  mines, and  the  Yosemite,  but 
do  allow  me  to  know  something  about  smoke.  We 
reached  our  hotel,  from  the  seven  days'  trip,  and,  after 
a  bath  and  a  good  dinner  with  agreeable  company,  were 
shown  as  much  of  the  city  as  it  was  possible  to  see  be- 
fore the  "  wee  short  hour  ayont  the  twal'." 


Palace  Hotel,  San  Francisco,  \ 

Wednesday  Evening,  October  23.  J 

A  palace  truly!  Where  shall  we  find  its  equal? 
Windsor  Hotel,  good-bye !  you  must  yield  the  palm 
to  your  great  Western  rival,  as  far  as  structure  goes, 


12  Round  the   World. 

though  in  all  other  respects  you  may  keep  the  foremost 
place.  There  is  no  other  hotel  building  in  the  world 
equal  to  this.  The  court  of  the  Grand  at  Paris  is  poor 
compared  to  that  of  the  Palace.  Its  general  effect  at 
night,  when  brilliantly  lighted,  is  superb ;  its  furniture, 
rooms  and  appointments  are  all  fine,  but  then  it  tells 
you  all  over  it  was  built  to  "  whip  all  creation,"  and 
the  millions  of  its  lucky  owner  enabled  him  to  triumph. 
It  is  as  much  in  place  in  San  Francisco  as  the 
Taj  would  be  in  Sligo ;  but  then  your  California  oper- 
ator, when  he  has  made  a  "  pile,"  goes  in  for  a  hotel, 
just  as  in  New  York  one  takes  to  a  marble  palace  or  a 
grand  railway  depot,  or  in  Cincinnati  to  a  music  hall,  or 
in  Pittsburgh  to  building  a  church  or  another  rolling 
mill.  Every  community  has  its  social  idiosyncrasies, 
but  it  struck  us  as  rather  an  amusing  coincidence  that 
while  we  had  recently  greeted  no  less  a  man  than  Pot- 
ter Palmer,  Esq.,  behind  the  counter  in  Chicago  as 
"  mine  host  of  the  Garter,"  we  should  so  soon  have  found 
ourselves  in  the  keeping  of  Senator  Sharon,  lessee  of 
the  Palace.  These  hotels  do  not  impress  one  as  being 
quite  suitable  monuments  for  one  who  naturally  con- 
siders his  labors  about  over  when  he  builds,  as  they  are 
apt  apparently  to  prove  rather  lively  for  comfort  to  the 
owners,  and  we  have  decided  when  our  building  time 
comes  that  it  shall  not  be  in  the  hotel  line.  We  got  to 
bed  at  last,  but  who  could  sleep  after  such  a  day — after 
such  a  week !    The  ceaseless  motion,  with  the  click,  click, 


San  Francisco.  13 

click  of  the  wheels — our  sweet  lullaby  apparently  this 
had  become — was  wanting;  and  then  the  telegrams  from 
home,  which  bade  us  Godspeed,  the  warm,  balmy  air  of 
Italy,  when  we  had  left  winter  behind — all  this  drove 
sleep  away ;  and  when  drowsiness  came,  what  appari- 
tions of  Japanese,  Chinese,  Indians,  elephants,  camels, 
josses!  passed  through  our  brain  in  endless  procession. 
We  were  at  the  Golden  Gate  ;   we  had  just  reached  the 
edge  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  before  us  lay 
.     .     .     "  the  wealth  of  Ormus  and  of  Ind, 
Or  where  the  gorgeous  East,  with  richest  hand, 
Showers  on  her  kings  barbaric  pearl  and  gold. 

To  every  blink  the  livelong  night  there  came  this 
refrain,  which  seemed  to  close  each  scene  of  Oriental 
magnificence  that  haunted  the  imagination  : 

"And  our  gude  ship  sails  ye  morn, 
And  our  gude  ship  sails  ye  morn." 

Do  what  I  would,  the  words  of  the  old  Scotch  bal- 
lad would  not  down.  Sleep !  who  could  sleep  in  such 
an  hour?  Dead  must  be  the  man  whose  pulse  beats  not 
quicker,  and  whose  enthusiasm  is  not  enkindled  when 
for  the  first  time  he  is  privileged  to  whisper  to  himself, 
The  East !  the  East ! 

"And  our  gude  ship  sails  ye  morn." 


Harbor  of  San  Francisco,  Thursday,  October  24. 
At  last !  noon,  24th,  and  there  she  lies — the  Belgic 
at  her  dock !     What    a  crowd !    but  not  of   us ;    eight 


14  Round  the   World. 

hundred  Chinamen  are  to  return  to  the  Flowery  Land. 
One  looks  like  another ;  but  how  quiet  they  are  !  Are 
they  happy?  overjoyed  at  being  homeward  bound? 
We  cannot  judge.  Those  sphinx-like,  copper-colored 
faces  tell  us  no  tales.  We  had  asked  a  question  last 
night  by  telegraph,  and  here  is  the  reply  brought  to  us 
on  the  deck.  It  ends  with  a  tender  good-bye.  How 
near  and  yet  how  far !  but  even  if  the  message  had 
sought  us  out  at  the  Antipodes,  its  power  to  warm  the 
heart  with  the  sense  of  the  near  presence  and  com- 
panionship of  those  we  love  would  only  have  been 
enhanced.  In  this  we  seem  almost  to  have  reached  the 
dream  of  the  Swedish  seer,  who  tells  us  that  thought 
brings  presence,  annihilating  space  in  heaven. 

We  start  promptly  at  noon.  Our  ship  is  deeply 
laden  with  flour,  which  China  needs  in  consequence  of 
the  famine  prevailing  in  its  northern  provinces,  not  ow- 
ing to  a  failure  of  the  rice,  as  I  had  understood,  but  of 
the  millet,  which  is  used  by  the  poor  instead  of  rice. 
Some  writers  estimate  that  five  millions  of  people  must 
die  from  starvation  before  the  next  crop  can  be 
gathered;  but  this  seems  incredible.  And  now  America 
comes  to  the  rescue,  so  that  at  this  moment,  while  from 
its  Eastern  shores  it  pours  forth  its  inexhaustible  stores 
to  feed  Europe,  it  sends  from  the  West  of  its  surplus  to 
the  older  races  of  the  far  East.  Thus  from  all  sides, 
fabled  Ceres  as  she  is,  she  scatters  to  all  peoples  from 
the  horn  of  plenty.     Favored  land,  may  you  prove  wor- 


The  Pacific.  15 

thy  of  all  your  blessings  and  show  to  the  world  that 
after  ages  of  wars  and  conquests  there  comes  at  last  to 
the  troubled  earth  the  glorious  reign  of  peace.  But  no 
new  steel  cruisers,  no  standing  army.  These  are  the 
devil's  tools  in  monarchies ;  the  Republic's  weapons 
are  the  ploughshare  and  the  pruning  hook. 

For  three  hundred  miles  the  Pacific  is  never  pacific. 
Coast  winds  create  a  swell,  and  our  first  two  nights  at 
sea  were  trying  to  bad  sailors,  but  the  motion  was  to 
me  so  soft  after  our  long  railway  ride  that  I  seemed  to 
be  resting  on  air  cushions.  It  was  more  delightful  to  be 
awake  and  enjoy  the  sense  of  perfect  rest  than  to  sleep, 
tired  as  we  were ;  so  we  lay  literally 

"  Rocked  in  the  cradle  of  the  rude  imperious  surge,' 

and  enjoyed  it. 

To  some  of  my  talented  New  York  friends  who  are 
touched  with  Buddhism  just  now  and  much  puzzled  to 
describe,  and  I  judge  even  to  imagine,  their  heaven,  I 
confidently  recommend  a  week's  continuous  jar  upon  a 
rough  railway  as  the  surest  preparation  for  attaining  a 
just  conception  of  Nirvana,  where  perfect  rest  is  held 
the  greatest  possible  bliss.  Lying,  as  I  did  apparently, 
upon  air  cushions,  and  rocked  so  softly  on  the  waves,  I 
had  not  a  wish  ;  desire  was  gone  ;  I  was  content ;  every 
particle  of  my  weary  body  seemed  bathed  in  delight. 
Here  was  the  delicious  sense  of  rest  we  are  promised  in 
Nirvana. 


1 6  Round  the   World. 

The  third  day  out  we  are  beyond  the  influence  of  the 
coast,  and  begin  our  first  experience  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  So  far  it  is  simply  perfect ;  we  are  on  the  ideal 
summer  sea.  What  hours  for  lovers,  these  superb 
nights!  they  would  develop  rapidly,  I'm  sure,  under 
such  skyey  influences.  The  temperature  is  genial,  balmy 
breezes  blow,  there  is  no  feehng  of  chilliness ;  the  sea, 
bathed  in  silver,  glistens  in  the  moonlight ;  we  sit  under 
awnings  and  glide  through  the  water.  The  loneliness 
of  this  great  ocean  I  find  very  impressive — so  different 
from  the  Atlantic  pathway — we  are  so  terribly  alone,  a 
speck  in  the  universe ;  the  sky  seems  to  enclose  us  in  a 
huge  inverted  bowl,  and  we  are  only  groping  about,  as 
it  were,  to  find  a  way  out;  it  is  equidistant  all  around 
us  ;  nothing  but  clouds  and  water.  But  as  we  sail  west- 
ward we  have  every  night  a  magnificent  picture.  I  have 
never  seen  such  resplendent  sunsets  as  these :  we  seem 
nightly  to  be  just  approaching  the  gates  of  Enchanted 
Land ;  through  the  clouds,  in  beautiful  perspective, 
shine  the  gardens  of  the  Hesperides,  and  imagination 
readily  creates  fairy  lands  beyond,  peopled  with  spirits 
and  fays.  It  is  not  so  much  the  gorgeousness  of  the 
colors  as  their  variety  which  gives  these  sunsets  a  char- 
acter of  their  own  ;  one  can  find  anything  he  chooses  in 
their  infinite  depths.  Turner  must  have  seen  such  in 
his  mind's  eye.  "  I  never  saw  such  sunsets  as  these  you 
paint,"  said  the  critic  of  his  style.  "  No  ;  don't  you  wish 
you  could  ?  "  was  the  reply.     But  I  think  even  a  prosaic 


Alarm  of  Fire.  1 7 

critic  would  feel  that  these  Pacific  pictures  have  a  spir- 
itual sense  beyond  the  letter,  unless,  indeed,  he  were 
Wordsworth's  friend,  to  whom 

"  A  primrose  by  a  river's  brim 
A  yellow  primrose  was  to  him, 
And  it  was  nothing  more." 

He,  of  course,  is  hopeless. 


Thursday,  October  31. 
We  have  been  a  week  at  sea.     Can  it  be  only  seven 
days  since  we  waved  adieu  to  bright  eyes  on  the  pier  ? 
We  begin  to  feel  at  home  on  the  ship.     The  passengers 
are  now  known  to  each  other,  and  hereafter  the  days, 
will  slip  by  faster.     I  went  down  with  the  doctor  and' 
Vandy  to  see  the  Chinamen  to-day.     What    a   sight! 
Piled  in  narrow  cots  three  tiers  deep,  with  passages  be- 
tween the  rows  scarcely  wide  enough  for  one  to  walk, 
from  end  to  end  of  the  ship  these  poor  wretches  lie  in 
an  atmosphere  so  stifling  that  I  had  to  rush  up  to  the 
deck  for  air.     So  far  three  have  died,  and  two  have  be- 
come crazy.     My  foolish  curiosity  has  made  the  voyage 
less  satisfactory,  for  I  cannot  forget  the  danger  of  disease 
breaking  out  among  this  horde,  nor  can  I  drive  the  yel- 
low, stupid-looking  faces  out  of  mind.    The  night  of  the 
day  in  which  I  had  gone  below  we  were  playing  a  rubber 
of  whist  in  the  cabin  when  the  port-hole  at  my  head 
was  pushed  open,  and  a  voice  in  broken  English  shouted, 
**  Crazee   manee  ;    he   makee   firee,  firee ! "     I   jumped 


1 8  Rou7id  the   World. 

round  and  saw  a  Chinaman.  Such  an  expression — 
Shakespeare  alone  has  described  it- 

"  And  with  a  look  so  piteous  in  purport, 
As  if  lie  had  been  loosed  out  of  hell 
To  speak  of  horrors." 

Fire !  that  epitome  of  all  that  is  appalling  at  sea,  the 
danger  each  one  instinctively  dreads,  but  no  one  men- 
tions. One  ran  one  way  and  one  another.  The  doctor 
(a  real  canny  Scot,  who  sings  "  My  Nannie's  awa'  "  like 
Wilson)  was  over  the  rail  and  down  the  hold  in  a  mo- 
ment. I  ran  to  Captain  Meyer's  room  on  the  upper 
deck  and  roused  him.  He  too  was  down  and  in  the  hold 
like  a  flash — brave  fellows  that  they  are,  these  "  true 
British  sailors."  I  waited  the  result,  knowing  that  if  fire 
had  really  started,  a  general  stampede  of  Chinamen 
would  soon  come  from  the  hatches ;  but  all  was  still. 
How  long  those  few  moments  seemed  !  In  a  short  time 
the  captain  returned,  looking,  in  his  night-clothes,  like 
a  ghost.  One  of  the  crazy  men  had  broken  loose  from 
his  chains,  and  the  Chinamen  were  panic-stricken.  The 
watchman  wanted  the  most  startling  alarm,  and  found 
it,  undoubtedly,  in  that  word  fire.  It  is  all  over;  but 
when  he  next  has  to  sound  an  alarm  let  him  "  take  any 
form  but  that." 

We  have  a  reverend  missionary  and  wife,  with  two 
young  lady  missionaries  in  embryo,  who  are  on  their 
way  to  begin  their  labors  among  the  Chinese.  They  are 
busily  engaged  learning  the  language.    Poor  girls !  what 


Chopsticks  vs.  Forks,  19 

a  life  they  have  before  them !  But  apart  from  all  ques- 
tion of  its  true  usefulness,  they  have  the  grand  thought 
to  sustain  them,  and  ennoble  their  lives,  that  they  go  at 
the  call  of  what  seems  to  them  their  duty.  We  watch 
the  Chinese  eating  and  laugh  at  their  chopsticks,  but  we 
forget  that  one  reason  why  John  Chinaman  prides  him- 
self upon  being  at  the  pinnacle  of  civilization  is  that  he 
uses  these  very  chopsticks.  (None  of  the  races  of 
Asia,  and  until  recently  he  knew  no  other,  have  ever 
got  beyond  chopsticks,  the  use  of  which  was  first  taught 
China,  while  most  of  them  don't  even  have  them  yet.) 
Let  us  not  forget  that  our  ancestors  were  using  their 
fingers — barbarians  that  they  were — when  the  Chinese 
had  risen,  centuries  before,  to  the  refinement  of  these 
sticks,  for  the  fork  is  only  about  three  hundred  years 
old.  Shakespeare  probably,  Spenser  certainly,  had  only 
a  knife  at  his  girdle  to  carve  the  meat  he  ate,  the  fingers 
being  important  auxiliaries.  We  must  be  modest  upon 
this  chopstick  question.  It  costs  the  ship  eleven  cents 
($y^d.)  per  day  a  head  to  feed  these  people,  and  this 
pays  for  a  wholesome  diet  in  great  abundance,  much  be- 
yond what  they  are  accustomed  to. 

While  on  the  subject  of  the  Chinaman  I  may  note 
that  of  course  we  did  not  get  through  California  with- 
out hearing  the  Chinese  problem  warmly  discussed.  It 
is  the  burning  question  just  now  upon  the  Pacific  coast, 
but  it  seems  to  me  our  Californians'  fears  are,  as  Col- 
onel Diehl  would   put    it,  "slightly  previous."     There 


20  Rotmd  the   World. 

are  only  about  130,000  Chinese  in  America,  and  great 
numbers  are  returning  as  the  result  of  hard  times,  and 
I  fear  harder  treatment.  There  is  no  indication  that 
we  are  to  be  overrun  by  them,  and  until  they  change 
their  religious  ideas  and  come  to  California  to  marry, 
settle,  die,  and  be  buried  there,  it  is  preposterous  to  be- 
lieve there  is  any  thing  in  the  agitation  against  them 
beyond  the  usual  prejudice  of  the  ignorant  races  next 
to  them  in  the  social  scale. 

I  met  the  owner  of  a  quicksilver  mine,  whose  re- 
marks shed  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  matter.  The 
mine  yields  a  lean  ore,  and  did  not  pay  when  worked 
by  white  labor  costing  $2  to  $2.50  per  day.  He  con- 
tracted with  a  Chinaman  to  furnish  170  men  at  one-half 
these  rates.  They  work  well,  doing  as  much  per  man 
as  the  white  man  can  do  in  this  chmate.  He  has  no 
trouble  with  them — no  fights,  no  sprees,  no  strikes.  The 
difference  in  the  cost  enables  him  to  work  at  a  profit  a 
mine  which  otherwise  would  be  idle  ;  and  to  such  as  talk 
against  Chinese  labor  in  the  neighborhood,  he  replies, 
"  Very  well,  drive  it  off  if  you  please,  but  the  mine 
stops  if  you  do."  The  benefit  to  the  district  of  having 
a  mine  actively  at  work  has  so  far  insured  protection. 
This  is  the  whole  story.  Our  free  American  citizen 
from  Tipperary  and  the  restless  rowdy  of  home  growth 
find  a  rival  beating  them  in  the  race,  and  instead  of 
taking  the  lesson  to  heart  and  practising  the  virtues 
which  cause   the  Chinaman  to  excel,  they  mount  the 


Flying  Fish.  21 

rostrum  and  proclaim  that  this  is  a  "white  man's  coun- 
try," and  "  down  with  the  nigger  and  the  Heathen  Chi- 
nee," and  "  three  cheers  for  whiskey  and  a  free  fight ! " 
The  Chinese  question  has  not  reached  a  stage  requiring 
legislation,  nor,  if  let  alone,  will  it  do  so  for  centuries  to 
come — and  not  then  unless  the  Chinese  change  their  re- 
ligious ideas,  which  they  have  not  done  for  thousands 
of  years,  and  are  not  likely  to  do  in  our  time. 


Friday,  November  i. 
We  saw  flying-fishes  to-day  for  the  first  time.  The 
captain  had  been  telling  us  as  we  approached  the  30th 
degree  of  latitude  that  we  should  see  these  curiosities, 
and,  sure  enough,  while  standing  on  the  bridge  this 
morning,  looking  toward  the  bow,  I  saw  three  objects 
rise  out  of  the  water  and  fly  from  us.  One  seemed  as 
large  as  a  herring,  the  others  were  like  humming-birds. 
They  have  much  larger  wings  than  I  had  supposed,  and 
shine  brightly  in  the  sun  as  they  fly.  We  have  on  board 
a  gentleman  connected  with  the  Dutch  Government, 
who  visits  their  out-of-the-way  possessions  in  the  Malay 
Archipelago.  He  has  been  where  a  white  man  never 
was  before — in  the  interior  of  New  Guinea — and  has 
seen  strange  things.  He  tells  us  that  the  birds  of  para- 
dise take  seven  years  to  develop.  The  first  year  male 
and  female  are  alike,  but  year  after  year  the  male  ac- 
quires brighter  feathers,  until  it  becomes  the  superb 
bird  we  know.     Some  one  remarked  that  it  is  just  the 


22  Round  the   World. 

reverse  with  the  birds  of  paradise  in  man's  creation. 
Here  our  Eve  puts  on  gayer  plumage  year  after  year 
until  finally  she  develops  into  a  still  more  superb  bird, 
while  the  male  remains  the  same  sober-suited  fowl  he 
was  at  first ;  but  this  was  from  a  bachelor,  I  think. 

We  are  in  a  new  world,  and  the  talk  is  all  of 
people  and  islands  and  animals  we  never  heard  of.  Do 
you  know,  for  instance,  that  such  a  potentate  as  the 
Sultan  of  Terantor  exists  ?  and,  ambitious  ruler  that  he 
is,  that  he  now  claims  tribute  from  the  whole  of  New 
Guinea  ?  Then,  again,  let  me  tell  you  that  the  Sultan 
of  Burnei  gets  $6,000  per  year  tribute  from  Setwanak, 
and,  like  a  grasping  tyrant,  demands  more  ;  hence  the 
wars  which  rage  in  that  quarter  of  the  globe.  The 
Setwanaks  have  appealed  to  the  "  God  of  Battles,"  and 
are  no  doubt  shouting  on  all  hands  that  "  Resistance  to 
tyrants  is  obedience  to  God ; "  and  "  Millions  for  de- 
fence ;  not  a  cent  for  tribute."  Look  out  for  their  forth- 
coming declaration  of  independence  ;  and  why  shouldn't 
they  have  their  "  Whereases "  as  well  as  your  even 
Christian  ?  The  only  trouble  is  that  when  monarchs 
fight  nothing  is  settled  as  a  rule ;  what  one  loses  to-day, 
he  tries  to  win  back  to-morrow,  and  so  the  masses  are 
kept  in  a  state  of  perpetual  war,  or  preparation  for  war, 
equally  expensive.  If  Herbert  Spencer  had  never  for- 
mulated anything  but  the  law  underlying  these  sad  con- 
tentions between  man  and  man,  he  would  have  deserved 
to  rank  as  one  of   our  greatest  benefactors.     "  When 


Herbert  Spencer.  23 

power  is  arbitrarily  held  by  chief  or  king,  the  military 
spirit  is  developed,  and  wars  of  conquest  and  dynasties 
ensue  ;  and  just  in  proportion  as  power  is  obtained  by 
the  people,  the  industrial  type  is  developed  and  peace 
ensues."  Therefore  the  greatest  thinker  of  the  age  is 
a  republican.  I  quote  from  memory,  but  the  substance 
is  there,  and  it  is  because  this  law  is  true  that  there  is 
hope  for  the  future  of  the  world,  for  everywhere  the 
people  are  marching  to  political  power.  England  is 
yet  the  world's  greatest  offender,  because  she  is  still 
ruled  by  the  few,  her  boasted  representative  system 
being  only  a  sham.  When  the  masses  do  really  govern, 
England  will  be  pacific  and  make  friends  throughout 
the  world  instead  of  enemies,  "  and  sing  the  songs  of 
peace  to  all  her  neighbors." 

The  Dutch  have  35,000,000  under  their  sway  in 
Java  and  the  other  Malay  Islands ;  as  many  as  Great 
Britain  has  within  her  borders.  The  world  gets  most 
of  its  spices  and  its  coiTee  from  these  people.  So  the 
Dutch  are  not  to  be  credited  only  with  having  taken 
Holland,  you  see. 

Another  Chinaman  is  reported  gone  to-day  :  all  have 
to  be  embalmed,  of  course,  and  the  doctor  gets  as  his 
fee  $12,50  for  each  corpse.  He  complained  to  me  the 
other  day  that  these  people  would  not  take  his  medi- 
cines, and,  Scotchman-like,  didn't  see  the  point  I  made — 
that  they  might  naturally  hesitate  to  swallow  the  po- 
tions of  one  whose  highest  reward  arose  from  a  fatal 


24  Rou7id  the   World. 

result.  The  Heathen  Chinee  is  not  a  fool.  The  coffins 
of  the  dead  on  the  wheel-house  begin  to  make  quite  a 
show  ;  they  are  covered  with  canvas,  but  one  will  some- 
times see  the  pile.  Not  one  of  these  men  could  ever 
have  been  induced  to  leave  his  home  without  satisfactory 
assurance  that  in  case  of  death  his  remains  would  be 
carried  back  and  carefully  buried  in  the  spot  where  he 
first  drew  breath.  I  remember  reading  in  MacLeod's 
"  Highland  Parish  "  that  so  strongly  implanted  is  this 
sentiment  in  the  Highlanders  that  even  a  wife  who  mar- 
ries out  of  her  clan  is  brought  home  at  her  death  and 
buried  among  her  own  kith  and  kin.  I  confess  to  a 
strange  sympathy  with  this  feeling  myself.  It  seems  to 
agree  with  the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  that  where  we 
first  saw  day  we  should  rest  after  the  race  is  run.  Yes, 
the  old  song  is  right : 

"  Wherever  we  wander  in  life's  stormy  ways 
May  our  paths  lead  to  home  ere  the  dose  of  our  days, 
And  our  evening  of  life  in  serenity  close 
In  the  Isle  where  the  bones  of  our  Fathers  repose." 

One  of  our  company  has  kindly  shown  me  "  some 
things  in  waves  "  which  I  have  always  passed  over  be- 
fore. Hereafter  they  will  have  a  new  interest  and  a 
new  beauty  for  me.  I  now  watch  by  the  hour  for  some 
rare  effect  and  colors  to  which  I  was  before  stone-blind. 
Some  of  the  rarest  jewels  are  rated  by  comparison  with 
the  emerald  and  aqua-marine  tints  shown  by  the  pure 


Albatrosses.  25 

waves  of  the  ocean.  Thanks,  my  fellow-traveller,  for  a 
new  sense  awakened. 

The  albatrosses,  which  follow  us  in  large  numbers,  are 
a  source  of  pleasure.  These  are  not  the  sacred  birds  of 
the  Ancient  Mariner,  but  are  of  the  same  species.  They 
excel  all  other  birds,  I  think,  in  power  and  gracefulness 
of  flight.  It  is  rather  a  glide  than  a  fly,  as  they  appear 
scarcely  ever  to  flap  their  wings,  but  sail  on  as  it  were 
"  by  the  sole  act  of  their  unlorded  will."  No  wonder 
such  woe  befell  the  Ancient  Mariner  through  killing  one. 
They  are  too  grand  to  destroy.  Last  evening  I  had  a 
treat  in  seeing  these  birds  gathering  for  the  night  on  the 
waters  in  the  hollow  of  a  deep  wave.  A  dozen  were 
already  in  the  nest  as  our  ship  swept  past,  and  others 
were  coming  every  moment  from  all  directions  to  the  fold; 
probably  thirty  birds  would  thus  nestle  together  through 
the  long  night  in  the  middle  of  this  waste  of  waters.  I 
was  glad  for  their  sakes,  poor  wanderers,  that  their  lonely 
lives  were  brightened  at  night  by  the  companionship  of 
their  fellows. 

Our  second  Sunday  at  sea.  As  I  write,  the  bell 
tolls  for  church.  Our  missionary  will  have  a  small 
congregation,  for  there  are  only  twenty-two  passengers. 
I  trust  he  will  be  moved  to  speak  to  us,  away  in  mid- 
ocean,  of  the  great  works  of  the  Unknown,  the  mighty 
deep,  the  universe,  the  stars,  at  which  we  nightly  won- 
der, and  not  drag  us  down  to  the  level  of  dogmas  we 
can  know  nothing  of,  and  about  which  we  care  less. 


26  Round  the   World. 

The  sermon  is  over.  Pshaw  !  He  spent  the  morning  at- 
tempting to  prove  to  us  that  the  wine  Christ  made  at  the 
marriage  feast  was  not  fermented,  as  if  it  mattered,  or  as 
if  this  could  ever  be  known !  and  I  was  in  the  mood  to 
preach  such  a  magnificent  sermon  myself,  too,  if  I  had 
had  his  place.     No  ;  I  shall  never  forgive  him — never! 

It  is  an  even  chance  that  this  missionary  will  one 
day  inflict  such  frivolous  stuff  upon  the  heathen  as  part 
of  the  divine  message  ;  for  of  the  majesty,  the  sweetness, 
and  the  reforming  power  of  Christ's  teaching  and  char- 
acter, he  seems  to  have  not  the  faintest  conception.  To 
the  enquiry  one  constantly  hears  in  the  East — why 
churches  send  forth  as  missionaries  such  inferior  men  as 
they  generally  do,  whose  task  is  to  eradicate  error  and 
plant  truth — there  is  this  to  be  said  :  churches  must 
take  the  best  material  at  their  disposal,  and  men  who 
have  the  ability  to  influence  their  fellows  through  the 
pulpit  find  their  best  and  highest  work  at  home.  This 
leaves  the  incapables  for  foreign  service.  The  other 
class  from  which  missionaries  must  be  drawn  are  the 
over-zealous,  who  have  plenty  of  enthusiastic  emotional 
fervor,  but  combined  in  most  cases  with  narrow,  dog- 
matic views — the  very  kind  of  men  to  irritate  the  peo- 
ple to  whom  they  are  sent,  and  the  least  likely  to  win 
their  hearts  or  reach  their  understanding.  There  are 
notable  exceptions,  able  men  who  still  go  at  duty's  call ; 
but  such  generally  see  that  they  can  be  ill  spared  from 
more  pressing  home  work. 


Pacific  Isles.  27 

Monday,  November  4. 

Our  course  is  the  southerly  one,  5,120  miles  to  Yoko- 
hama, some  five  hundred  miles  farther  than  that  of  the 
great  circle  ;  but  for  the  increased  distance  we  have  full 
compensation  in  the  delightful  weather  and  calm  seas 
we  experience.  The  water  is  about  72°,  the  air  'Ji° ,  so 
that  it  is  genial  on  deck.  We  are  really  in  summer 
weather — something  so  different  from  Atlantic  sailing 
that  I  get  accustomed  to  it  with  difficulty.  Last 
night  at  ten  o'clock  we  passed  the  half-way  point  ten 
days  and  eight  hours  out.  The  captain  showed  us  his 
chart  to-day,  and  it  was  reassuring  to  see  that  to-mor- 
row we  shall  pass  within  120  miles  of  land — the  Mid- 
way Islands.  Upon  one  of  this  coral  group  the  Pacific 
Mail  Company  has  deposited  3,000  tons  of  coal  and  a 
large  amount  of  mess  pork  as  a  reserve  supply  in  case 
any  steamer  should  be  disabled.  We  passed  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  not  more  than  450  miles  to  the  southward, 
when  one  quarter  of  the  way  over,  and  the  Bonin 
Islands  occupy  about  the  same  relative  position  in  our 
course  to  the  eastward,  so  that  the  immense  distance 
between  San  Francisco  and  Yokohama  is  finely  pro- 
vided for  in  case  of  accident.  You  have  but  to  sail 
southward  and  find  a  port  of  refuge.  Indeed,  there 
is  along  this  entire  parallel  of  latitude  a  new  strip 
of  land  under  process  of  manufacture.  A  good  chart 
shows  islands  dotting  the  South  Pacific  Ocean,  all  of 
coral  formation;    these  millions  of  toilers  are  hard  at 


28  Round  the   World. 

work,  and  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  our  pos- 
terity will  run  by  rail  from  the  Sandwich  to  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  always  provided  that  the  work  of  these 
little  builders  is  not  interfered  with  by  forces  which 
destroy.  Thus  the  grand,  never-ending  work  of  crea- 
tion goes  on,  cycle  upon  cycle,  revealing  new  wonders 
at  every  turn  and  knowing  no  rest  or  pause. 

Gone,  November  5th,  1878,  a  dies  Jtoji,  which  never 
was  born.  Lost,  strayed,  or  stolen — a  rare  diadem,  com- 
posed of  twenty-four  precious  gems — some  diamonds 
bright,  some  rubies  rare,  some  jet  as  black  as  night. 
It  was  to  have  been  displayed  at  midnight  to  an  ad- 
miring few  who  nightly  gaze  upon  the  stars,  but  when 
looked  for  it  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  A  well-known 
party,  familiarly  known  as  Old  Sol,  is  thought  to  be 
concerned  in  the  matter,  but  chiefly  is  suspected  a  no- 
torious thief  who  has  stolen  many  precious  jewels — Old 
Father  Time.  Oh  !  many  an  hour  has  that  thief  stolen, 
but  this  gobbling  up  of  a  whole  day  and  night  at  one 
fell  swoop  seems  out  of  all  reason.  Yet  he  has  done  it ! 
We  have  no  5th  of  November.  An  amusing  story  is 
told  of  some  clergymen  returning  to  America,  in  which 
case  a  day  is  gained,  and  it  is  necessary  to  have  two 
days  of  the  same  date  instead  of  omitting  one,  as  in 
our  case.  The  line  was  crossed  on  Sunday,  and  the 
captain,  never  thinking,  called  out  to  the  chief  ofificer 
to  make  another  Sunday  to-morrow.  One  of  the 
clergymen    was    Scotch,    and    Presbyterian    at     that. 


Night  at  Sea.  29 

"  Mak  a  Sawbath — mak  the  holy  Sawbath ;  ma  con- 
science ! "  The  order  had  been  given,  however,  and 
two  Sundays  were  observed  ;  but  our  scandalized  friend 
could  never  be  reconciled  to  the  captain  who  had  pre- 
sumed to  have  a  holy  Sabbath  of  his  "  ain  making." 


Thursday,  November  7. 
These  nights  were  not  made  for  sleep,  nor  these 
days  either,  for  that  matter;  but  of  all  the  nights  I 
have  ever  seen  I  think  this  one  excels.  The  moon  is 
overhead  and  at  the  full,  casting  her  mellow  light 
around,  suffusing  with  a  soft  glory  the  heavens  above, 
and  lending  to  the  dancing,  foaming  waves  a  silvery 
shimmer.  Jupiter  is  on  the  western  horizon,  fading  out 
of  sight,  but  how  lustrous !  Lyra,  Arcturus,  Aldebaran, 
seem  of  gigantic  size.  All  sails  are  set,  and  a  fair, 
balmy  wind  from  the  sweet  south  makes  the  Belgic 
glide  through  the  rushing  waters.  We  are  only  twenty 
miles  from  the  Morrell  Islands.  How  I  long  for  a  deck- 
ful  of  my  friends  to  exult  with  me  in  this  delight ! 
Nothing  but  Byron's  lines  will  do  it  justice.  They  are 
too  long  to  quote  here,  but  here  are  a  few  lines,  which 
I  must  repeat : 

....     "for  the  night 
Hath  been  to  me  a  more  familiar  face 
Than  that  of  man  ;  and  in  her  starry  shade 
Of  dim  and  solitary  loveliness 
I  learned  the  language  of  another  world." 


30  Rou7td  the   World. 

One  does  feel  in  such  moments,  when  beauty  and  sub- 
Hmity  are  so  overpoweringly  displayed,  that  there  are 
worlds  and  life  beyond  our  ken,  or  should  be  such,  for 
this  short  day  on  earth  surely  should  be  but  the  fore- 
taste of  a  sublime  existence  which  such  moods  indi- 
cate as  our  congenial  home. 


Friday,  November  8. 
I  know  I  went  to  bed  some  time  early  this  morning, 
but  after  reading  last  night's  effusion  in  the  cold,  sober 
light  of  day,  it  strikes  me  I  must  have  been  rather  en- 
thusiastic. However,  as  I  intend  these  notes  to  be 
an  honest  record  of  my  feelings,  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
modify  the  outburst.  I  know  I  recited  poetry  all  the 
evening  as  I  trod  the  deck,  and  therefore  was  in  the 
mood  for  anything.  The  captain  told  me  to-night  that 
in  all  his  voyages  at  this  season  he  had  never  had  one 
so  fine  as  this.  Of  course  he  hadn't.  Just  our  luck,  you 
see.  He  never  had  one  who  enjoyed  a  trip  more — that 
he  is  free  to  confess.  I  fairly  revel  in  the  sea,  and  pity 
poor  Vandy,  who  is  never  quite  up  to  the  mark  on  ship- 
board. Some  far-away  ancestor,  some  good  Scotch 
"  deil  ma  care,"  who  took  to  smuggling  instead  of  the 
more  fashionable  occupation  of  cattle-stealing,  for  most 
of  the  carles 

"Found  the  meat  that  made  their  broth 
In  England  and  in  Scotland  both," 

must  have   implanted  in  the  Carnegies  the  instinct  of 


An  Officer  without   Tact.  31 

the  salmon  for  the  sea.  I  should  have  been  a  sailor 
bold,  and  sailed  the  "  sawt,  sawt  faeme,"  a  pirate  with  a 
pirate's  bride  captured  vi  et  armis,  and  all  the  rest  of  it. 
I  am  up  late  again  to-night,  but,  fortunately,  there 
wasn't  a  soul  on  deck  to  hear  me  trying  to  sing 

"  Up,  up  with  the  flag ;  let  it  wave  o'er  the  sea, 
I'm  afloat,  I'm  afloat,  and  the  Rover  is  free  ! " 

The  officer  on  the  bridge  halloaed  to  me  once,  and 
asked  if  I  wanted  any  thing;  but  I  forgave  him.  He 
could  only  hear  my  roaring  at  his  distance ;  had  I  been 
nearer,  the  melody  would  no  doubt  have  reached  his 
ears,  and  he  would  have  known  I  was  singing  a  tune. 
Still  I  thought  it  politic  to  affect  not  having  heard  him, 
and  quietly  stepped  down  to  bed.  I  shall  avoid  friend 
Ryan  in  the  morning,  as  it  would  be  embarrassing  to  be 
asked,  especially  before  the  young  ladies,  who  or  what 
I  was  howling  at  last  night.  Some  people  have  no  tact, 
and  he  might  be  one  of  these  and  fail  to  comprehend. 
With  the  exception  of  the  officers,  our  crew,  sailors, 
stewards,  and  all,  are  Chinese,  and  in  all  and  each  of 
these  capacities  they  excel.  They  stand  the  heat  of  the 
furnaces  better  than  any  other  people,  and  as  stewards 
are  models. 


Sunday,  November  lo. 
Our  third  Sunday  at  sea.     The  past  week  has  been 
unbroken  sunshine,  moonlight,  and   smooth  seas.     So 
far  not  a  ship  has  been  seen.     I   have  read  carefully 


32  Rotmd  the    World. 

eleven  of  Shakespeare's  plays  during  the  spare  hours  of 
the  voyage,  and  have  enjoyed  those  most  with  which  I 
was  least  familiar,  while  some  passages  in  even  the  best 
known  I  wonder  greatly  at  not  having  long  ere  this 
committed  to  memory,  to  live  there  with  the  rest,  and 
come  at  my  call  to  minister  to  me.  They  are  such 
gems.  I  have  them  now,  and  feel  as  if  I  have  made  new 
friends,  whose  angel  visits  will  do  me  good  in  days  and 
nights  to  come.  Byron  affected  to  disparage  the  mas- 
ter, but  I  note  two  other  gems,  beside  many  I  knew  of 
before,  for  which  he  stands  indebted.  The  idea  in  his 
celebrated  lines  in  "  Mazeppa  " — 

"  Methought  that  mist  of  dawning  gray 
Would  never  dapple  into  day" — 

is  from  Two  Gentlanen  of  Verona,  and  the  "  Bright,  par- 
ticular star"  from  All's  Well  that  Ejtds  Well.  But  of 
course  I  do  not  intend  any  reflection  upon  Byron. 
Such  was,  and  is,  the  all-pervading,  transcendent  nature 
of  Shakespeare's  genius ;  it  was,  and  is,  and  shall  be  for 
ages  yet  to  come,  simply  impossible  for  any  writer  to 
avoid  drawing  from  that  fountain,  for  every  thing  has 
its  "  environment,"  and  Shakespeare  is  the  environment 
of  all  English-speaking  men. 


Wednesday,  November  13. 
Four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  land  !   To-day  we 
have  had  the  only  taste  of  Neptune's  power  he  has 


Waves  of  the  Pacific,  33 

favored  us  with :  it  began  to  blow  at  midnight,  and  to- 
day we  have  a  grand  sea.  I  have  just  come  from  the 
deck  after  witnessing  the  Pacific  in  its  fury,  and  no  one 
would  beheve  that  one  ocean  could  differ  as  much  from 
another  as  this  does  from  the  Atlantic.  The  waves 
here  move  in  immense  masses.  It  is  an  acre  of  water  in 
motion,  as  one  solid  lump,  instead  of  a  few  feet  square 
dashed  into  foam.     One  says  instinctively, 

"What  care  these  roarers  for  the  name  of  king:?  " 

I  have  noticed  that  even  in  the  smallest  waves  cast 
aside  by  the  ship  formations  are  different  from  those  of 
other  seas.  It  is  midnight,  and  we  are  only  125  miles 
from  Japan.  Not  a  passenger  except  myself  on  deck, 
but  I  cannot  sleep.  Vandy  would  be  with  me,  I  know, 
poor  fellow,  were  he  able  to  crawl,  but  the  storm  has 
settled  him  for  the  present.  How  strange  that  none  feel 
sufBcient  interest  to  stay  awake  and  watch  with  me ! 
They  would  be  amply  repaid.  The  phosphorescent  sea 
shows  forth  its  wonders  now — not  alone  in  the  myriads 
of  small  stars  of  light,  which  please  you  in  the  Atlantic, 
but  at  every  turn  of  the  foam  dashed  from  the  bow  and 
sides  of  the  ship  masses  of  glittering  phosphorescence 
as  large  as  my  travelling  cap.  What  creatures  these 
must  be  which  can  emit  light  in  such  clusters !  I  leave 
the  deck  with  the  cheery  "  All's  well !  "  ringing  in  my  ears 
as  the  ship  dances  before  the  wind  which  brings  to  a 
close  our  long  flight  across  the  Pacific.     How  we  have 


34  Round  the   World, 

longed  for  this  last  night,  and  yet  how  often  in  after  life 
are  we  to  sigh  for  a  return  to  the  glorious  nights  we 
have  lived  at  sea  !     Where  we  have 

"  Mingled  with  the  universe  to  feel 
What  we  can  ne'er  express, 
Nor  cannot  all  conceal." 

Good-night,  my  band  of  dear,  dear  friends,  now  in  the 
midst  of  your  daily  toil — for  it  is  yet  day  with  you — 
racking  your  brains  that  the  holiday  wanderer  may  revel 
as  he  is  now  doing.  In  the  earnest  hope  that  the  day 
may  not  be  far  distant  when  to  you  may  come  similar 
enjoyment  when  he  is  the  toiler,  he  goes  at  last  to  bed. 


Friday,  November  15. 
Land  ahoy !  The  islands  of  Japan  are  in  sight,  and 
the  entrance  to  the  bay  is  reached  at  4  P.M.  The  sail 
up  this  bay  is  never  to  be  forgotten.  The  sun  set  as  we 
entered,  and  then  came  such  a  sky  as  Italy  cannot  rival. 
I  have  seen  it  pictured  as  deluging  Egypt  with  its 
glory,  but  this  we  have  yet  to  see.  Fusiyama  itself 
shone  forth  under  its  rays,  its  very  summit  clear,  more 
than  14,000  feet  above  us.  The  clouds  in  large  masses 
lay  east  and  west  of  the  peak,  but  cowering  far  below, 
as  if  not  one  speck  dared  to  rise  to  its  crown.  It  stood 
alone  in  solitary  grandeur,  by  far  the  most  impressive 
mountain  I  have  yet  seen;  for  mountains,  as  a  rule,  are 
disappointing,  the  height  being  generally  attained  by 
gradations.     It  is  only  to  Fusiyama,  and  such  as  it,  that 


Fiisiyama,  35 

rise  alone  in  one  unbroken  pyramid,  that  one  can  apply 
Schiller's  grand  line, 

"  Ye  are  the  things  which  tower/' 

Fusiyama  towers  beyond  any  crag  or  peak  I  know  of; 
and  I  do  not  wonder  that  in  early  days  the  Japanese 
made  the  home  of  their  gods  upon  its  crest. 

It  was  nine  o'clock  when  the  anchor  dropped,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  after  small  boats  crowded  alongside  to 
take  us  ashore.  Until  you  are  rowed  in  a  sampan  in 
style,  never  flatter  yourself  you  have  known  the  gro- 
tesque in  the  way  of  transportation.  Fancy  a  large, 
wide  canoe,  with  a  small  cabin  in  the  stern,  the  deck  in 
front  lower  than  the  sides,  and  on  this  four  creatures, 
resembhng  nothing  on  earth  so  much  as  the  demons  in 
the  Black  Crook,  minus  most  of  the  covering.  They 
stand  two  on  each  side,  but  not  in  a  line,  and  each  works 
a  long  oar  scull-fashion,  accompanying  each  stroke  with 
shouts  such  as  we  never  heard  before ;  the  last  one 
steers  as  well  as  sculls  with  his  oar,  and  thus  we  go  pro- 
pelled by  these  yelling  devils,  who  apparently  work 
themselves  into  a  state  of  fearful  excitement.  We  land 
finally,  pass  the  Custom  House  without  examination, 
and  with  sea-legs  which  are  far  from  steady  reach  our 
hotel.  A  bite  of  supper — but  what  fearful  creatures 
again  to  bow  and  wait  on  us !  More  demons.  We 
laugh  every  minute  at  some  funny  performance,  and 
wonder  where  we  can  be ;  but  how  surprisingly  good 


36  Round  the    World. 

every  thing   is  which  we  eat  or  drink    on  land  after 
twenty-two  days  at  sea ! 

Tuesday,  November  19. 
We  have  been  three  days  in  Japan,  and  all  we  can 
tell  you  is  that  we  are  powerless  to  convey  more  than 
the  faintest  idea  of  that  which  meets  us  at  every  turn. 
Had  we  to  return  to-morrow,  we  should  still  feel  that 
we  had  been  fully  compensated  for  our  journey.  Though 
we  have  seen  most  of  the  strange  and  novel  which  Eu- 
rope has  to  show,  a  few  hours'  stroll  in  Yokohama  or 
Tokio  has  revealed  to  us  more  of  the  unexpected  than 
all  we  ever  saw  elsewhere.  No  country  I  have  visited 
till  now  has  proved  as  strange  as  I  had  imagined  it ;  the 
contrary  obtains  here.  All  is  so  far  beyond  what  I 
had  pictured  it  that  I  am  constantly  regretting  so  few 
of  my  friends  will  probably  ever  visit  Japan  to  see  and 
enjoy  for  themselves.  Let  me  try  to  describe  a  walk. 
We  are  at  the  hotel  door,  having  received  the  re- 
peated bows,  almost  to  the  ground,  of  numerous  de- 
mons. A  dozen  big  fellows  rush  up,  each  between  the 
shafts  of  his  "  ginrikshaw  "  like  a  cab-horse,  and  invite 
us  to  enter,  just  as  cabmen  do  elsewhere.  But  look  at 
their  costume,  or  shall  I  rather  say  want  of  costume? 
No  shoes,  unless  a  mat  of  straw  secured  with  straw 
strings  twisted  around  and  between  the  big  toe  and  the 
next  one  may  be  called  a  shoe ;  legs  and  body  bare,  ex- 
cept a  narrow  strip  of  rag  around  the  loins  ;  and  such  a 
hat !  it  is  either  of  some  dark  material,  as  big  as  the 


Sights  in   Yokohama.  2>7 

head  of  a  barrel  (I  do  not  exaggerate),  to  shelter  them 
from  sun  and  rain,  or  a  light  straw  flat  of  equal  size. 
These  are  the  Bettoes,  who  will  run  and  draw  you 
eighteen  miles  in  three  hours  and  a  quarter,  this  being 
the  distance  and  time  by  "  ginrikshaw  "  to  Tokio.  We 
decline  their  proffers  and  walk  on.  What  is  this?  A 
man  on  stilts !  His  shoes  are  composed  of  a  flat 
wooden  sole  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  on  which 
the  foot  rests,  elevated  upon  two  similar  pieces  of  board, 
about  four  inches  high,  placed  crosswise  about  three 
inches  apart.  On  the  edges  of  these  cross-pieces  he  struts 
along.  A  second  has  solid  wooden  pieces  of  equal 
height,  a  third  has  flat  straw  shoes,  a  fourth  has  none. 
Look  out  behind  !  What  is  this  noise  ?  "  Hulda,  hulda, 
hulda  !  "  shouted  in  our  ears.  We  look  around,  and  four 
coolies,  as  naked  as  Adam,  one  at  each  corner  of  a  four- 
wheel  truck,  pushing  a  load  of  iron  and  relieving  them- 
selves at  every  step  by  those  unearthly  groans.  Never 
have  we  seen  that  indispensable  commodity  trans- 
ported in  that  fashion  before.  But  look  there  !  A  fish- 
monger comes  with  a  basket  swinging  on  each  end  of  a 
bamboo  pole  carried  over  the  shoulder — all  single  loads 
are  so  carried — and  yonder  goes  a  water-carrier,  car- 
rying his  stoups  in  the  same  manner,  while  over  his 
shoulders  he  has  flung  a  coat  that  would  make  the  repu- 
tation of  a  clown  in  the  circus.  The  dress  of  the 
women  is  not  so  varied,  but  their  painted  lips  and 
whitened  necks,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  married  women, 


38  Rou7id  the   World. 

their  blackened  teeth,  afford  us  much  cause  for  staring, 
although  I  cannot  bear  to  look  upon  these  hideous- 
looking  wretches  when  they  smile ;  I  have  to  turn  my 
eyes  away.  How  women  can  be  induced  to  make 
such  disgusting  frights  of  themselves  I  cannot  conceive, 
but  Fashion — Fashion  does  anything.  The  appearance 
of  the  children  is  comical  in  the  extreme.  They  are  so 
thickly  padded  with  dress  upon  dress  as  to  give  them 
the  look  of  little  fat  Esquimaux.  The  women  invari- 
ably carry  them  on  their  backs,  Indian  fashion.  Here 
are  two  Japs  meeting  in  the  middle  of  the  street.  They 
bow  three  times,  each  inclination  lower  and  more  pro- 
found than  the  preceding  one,  infinite  care  being  taken 
to  drop  the  proper  number  of  inches  befitting  their  re- 
spective ranks,  and  then  shake  their  own  hands  in  token 
of  their  joy.  We  soon  reach  the  region  of  the  shops. 
These  are  small  booths,  and  squat  on  the  floor  sit  four 
or  five  men  and  women  around  a  brazier,  warming 
their  hands  while  they  smoke.  All  the  shops  are  of 
wood,  but  a  small  part  is  constructed  of  mud,  and  is 
said  to  be  fire-proof.  In  this  the  valuables  are  instantly 
thrown  when  one  of  the  very  frequent  fires  occurs.  The 
floors  are  matted,  and  kept  scrupulously  clean.  No  one 
thinks  of  entering  without  first  taking  his  shoes  off. 
The  shop  floors  are  raised  about  eighteen  inches  above 
the  street,  and  on  the  edges  purchasers  sit  sidewise  and 
make  their  bargains.  The  entire  street  is  a  pavement, 
as  no  horses  are  to  be  provided  for. 


Tea  Factories,  39 

We  visited  the  tea  factories  at  Yokohama.  Japan 
has  become  of  late  years  an  exporter  of  tea  to  America, 
no  less  than  five  thousand  tons  being  shipped  last  year. 
Tea  when  first  gathered  is  tasteless,  but  after  being  ex- 
posed to  the  sun  it  ferments  hke  hay.  It  is  then  curled, 
twisted,  baked,  and  brought  to  the  dealers,  who  again 
pick  it  over  carefully  and  roll  it  into  the  form  in  which 
it  reaches  us.  We  saw  many  hundreds  of  women  and 
girls  in  the  establishment  of  Messrs.  Walsh,  Hall  &  Co. 
rolling  rapidly  about  with  their  hands  a  quantity  of  the 
leaves  in  large  round  pots  under  which  a  small  char- 
coal fire  was  burning.  And  now,  for  the  benefit  of  my 
lady  friends,  let  me  explain  that  the  difference  between 
black  and  green  tea  is  simply  this:  the  former  is  al- 
lowed to  cure  or  ferment  in  the  sun  about  fifty  minutes 
longer  than  the  latter,  and  during  this  extra  fifty  min- 
utes certain  elements  pass  off  which  are  thought  to 
affect  the  nervous  system ;  hence  green  tea  has  a 
greater  effect  upon  weak  nerves  than  the  black,  but  you 
see  the  same  leaf  makes  either  kind,  as  the  owner  elects. 
But  here  comes  in  a  strange  prejudice.  Green  tea  of 
the  natural  color  could  not  be  sold  in  the  American 
market.  No,  we  insist  upon  having  a  "prettier  green," 
and  we  are  accommodated,  of  course.  What  can  a 
dealer  do  but  meet  the  imperious  demands  of  his  pa- 
trons ?  The  required  color  is  obtained  by  adulterating 
the  pure  tea  with  a  mixture  of  indigo  and  gypsum, 
which  the  most  conscientious  dealers  are  compelled  to 


40  Round  the   World. 

do.  But  we  saw  used  in  one  case  Prussian  blue,  which 
is  poisonous — this,  however,  was  not  in  Messrs.  Walsh, 
Hall  &  Co.'s — and  I  was  told  that  ultramarine  is  some- 
times resorted  to.  These  more  pernicious  substances 
produce  even  a  "prettier  green"  than  the  indigo  and 
gypsum,  and  secure  the  preference  of  ignorant  people. 
Moral — Stick  to  black  tea  and  escape  poison.  For  all 
of  which  information,  and  many  kind  attentions,  I  have 
to  thank  Mr.  Walsh,  our  banker. 

One  hears  very  often  in  Japan  during  the  night  a 
long,  plaintive  kind  of  whistle,  which,  upon  inquiry,  I 
found  proceeded  from  blind  men  or  women,  called 
shampooers,  who  are  employed  to  rub  or  pinch  those 
suffering  from  pain,  and  who  cure  restlessness  by  the 
same  means.  It  is  a  favorite  cure  of  the  Japanese,  and 
some  foreigners  tell  us  they  have  employed  it  with  suc- 
cess. I  suppose,  this  climate  being  productive  of  rheu- 
matism and  kindred  pains,  the  people  are  prone  to  fly 
to  anything  that  secures  temporary  relief;  but  it  is  a 
new  idea,  this,  of  being  pinched  to  sleep. 

We  live  well  at  the  hotels  here.  Japan  abounds  in 
fish  and  game  in  great  variety.  Woodcock,  snipe,  hares, 
and  venison  are  cheap,  and  all  of  excellent  quahty. 
The  beef  and  mutton  are  also  good,  as  are  the  vege- 
tables. Turnips,  radishes  and  carrots  are  enormous, 
owing,  I  suppose  to  the  depth  and  fineness  of  the  soil. 
Vandy  measured  some  of  each,  and  reports  :  "  Radishes, 
eighteen  inches,  and  beautifully  white ;  carrots,  twenty 
inches,  and  splendid." 


Tokio,  41 

Wednesday,  November  20. 
We  started  this  morning  from  Yokohama  for  Tokio, 
the  great  city  of  the  Empire,  which  contains  1,030,000 
inhabitants,  according  to  a  census  taken  last  year.  Un- 
til within  a  few  years  past  Japan  had  two  rulers — the 
Mikado,  or  spiritual,  and  the  Tycoon,  or  secular  ruler, 
although,  strictly  speaking,  the  former  was  theoretically 
the  supreme  ruler,  the  latter  obtaining  his  power 
through  marriage  with  the  family  of  the  former.  The 
seat  of  the  Mikado  was  at  Kioto,  a  fine  city  near  the 
centre  of  the  island,  while  the  Tycoon  resided  at  Tokio, 
or  Yeddo,  as  it  was  then  called.  The  Mikado  was  in- 
visible, being  the  veritable  veiled  prophet,  none  but  a 
privileged  few  being  ever  permitted  to  gaze  upon  his 
divine  person.  A  few  years  ago  it  was  decided  to  com- 
bine the  two  powers,  and  make  Yeddo  the  only  capital. 
The  Mikado  was  carried  to  Yeddo  closely  veiled,  in 
triumphal  procession,  and  the  vast  crowds,  assembled  at 
every  point  to  see  the  cavalcade,  prostrated  themselves, 
and  remained  with  eyes  bent  upon  the  ground  as  the 
sacred  car  approached.  An  eye-witness  describing  the 
entry  into  Tokio  says  that  few  dared  to  look  up  as  the 
Presence  passed.  Lately,  the  same  Mikado  has  made  a 
royal  progress  through  the  country,  meeting  the  prin- 
cipal men  in  each  district,  and  travelling  in  view  of  the 
entire  population,  so  rapidly  have  manners  changed  in 
Japan.  When  the  Mikado  was  elevated  to  supreme 
power,  the    feudal   system,  which   had   existed    up   to 


42  Rou7id  the   World, 

that  time,  was  abolished,  and  we  now  see  no  more  of 
the  Samuri,  or  two-sworded  men,  or  of  the  Daimios,  the 
petty  princes  who  formerly  promenaded  the  streets  in 
gorgeous  dresses,  accompanied  by  their  military  re- 
tainers. The  soldiers,  sailors,  policemen,  and  all  the 
official  classes  are  dressed  in  European  style.  It  is  the 
reigning  fashion  to  be  European,  and  even  furniture 
after  our  patterns  is  coming  into  use.  It  is  the  same 
with  food.  The  hotel  where  we  are  rejoices  in  a  French 
cook,  expressly  imported,  and  every  night  we  have 
parties  of  wealthy  Japanese  dining  at  this  Tokio  Del- 
monico's.  Last  night  we  had  a  party  of  the  most  cele- 
brated actors  enjoying  a  dinner  to  commemorate  the 
successful  completion  of  a  new  piece  which  had  en- 
joyed a  great  run.  I  amused  myself  trying  to  select  the 
Montagu,  Gilbert,  Becket,  and  Booth  of  the  party,  and 
succeeded  well,  as  I  afterward  heard.  Actors  are  held 
in  estimation  in  Tokio,  and  these  attracted  great  atten- 
tion as  they  dined.  Matters  are  much  as  with  us,  I 
fancy.  Our  interpreter,  in  his  broken  English,  told  us  in 
regard  to  the  two  young  lovers,  "■  Very  high  thought  by 
much  high  ladies— oh,  very  high  !  "  I  do  not  think  Euro- 
pean dress  improves  the  appearance  of  the  Japanese 
gentlemen ;  they  are  very  short,  and — I  regret  to  report 
it — generally  quite  crooked  in  the  legs,  and  their  own 
flowing  costumes  render  them  dignified  and  graceful. 
Indeed,  after  a  residence  in  the  East  for  a  while  one 
agrees  with  the  opinion  he  hears  often  expressed  there 


Tea  House  Entertainment.  43 

that  our  costume  is  the  most  unpicturesque  dress  in  the 
world. 

,  We  were  fortunate  in  having  as  shipmates  Captain 
Totaki,  of  the  navy,  and  a  young  lady,  Mile.  Rio,  who 
had  been  in  America  several  years,  and  had  acquired  an 
English  education.  They  were  excessively  kind  to  us 
during  our  entire  stay,  and  much  of  the  pleasure  de- 
rived is  due  to  them.  The  captain  gave  us  one  evening 
an  entertainment  at  a  fashionable  tea-house,  and  intro- 
duced us  to  the  celebrated  singing  and  dancing  girls  of 
Japan,  of  whom  all  have  heard.  We  were  shown  into  a 
large  room,  the  floor  of  which  was  covered  with  bam- 
boo matting  laid  upon  some  soft  substance.  Of  course 
our  shoes  were  laid  aside  at  the  door  of  the  house. 
There  were  neither  chairs  nor  furniture  of  any  kind,  but 
subsequently  chairs  were  found  for  us.  The  salutations 
on  the  part  of  the  numerous  women  servants  were  most 
profound,  each  prostrating  herself  to  the  floor,  and 
touching  the  mat  with  her  forehead  every  time  she 
entered  or  left  the  apartment.  Velvet  mats  were 
carried  into  the  room  by  a  servant  and  placed  around  a 
brazier  of  charcoal.  In  a  few  minutes  servant  after 
servant  entered,  prostrating  herself  to  the  ground,  and 
placing  before  us  some  Japanese  delicacy.  One  served 
soup  in  small  lacquer  bowls,  another  fish,  a  third  cakes, 
a  fourth  tea  in  very  tiny  cups,  and  others  various 
things,  and  finally  saki,  the  wine  of  the  country,  v/as 
produced,  served  in  small  cups  like  the  tea.    Then  came 


44  Round  the   World. 

the  girls.  Seven  approached,  each  carrying  a  musical 
instrument  of  queer  construction.  They  bowed  pro- 
foundly, but  I  noticed  did  not  touch  the  mat  with  their 
foreheads,  their  rank  being  much  superior  to  that  of 
the  servants,  and  began  to  play  and  sing. 

No  entertainment  is  complete  without  a  troop  of 
these  Gahazi  girls,  and  such  entertainments  form  about 
the  only  social  amusement  of  the  Japanese.  And  now 
for  the  music.  Please  understand  that  the  Japanese 
scale  is  not  like  ours,  and  nothing  like  melody  to  our 
ears  can  be  produced  by  it.  They  have  a  full  tone 
between  each  first  and  second  note,  and  a  semitone  be- 
tween each  third  and  fourth,  and  yet  the  same  feelings 
are  awakened  in  them  by  their  music  as  in  us  by  ours,  so 
that  harmony  itself  is  simply  a  matter  of  education  after 
all,  and  the  glorious  Fifth  Symphony  itself,  "  Lohen- 
grin," or  ''  Scots  wha  hae,"  played  or  sung  as  I  have 
heard  them,  would  convey  no  more  meaning  to  these 
people  than  so  much  rattling  of  cross-bones ;  but 
imagine  the  Fifth  Symphony  on  any  scale  but  ours !  I 
cannot  reconcile  myself  to  the  idea  that  we  have  not 
the  only  scale  for  such  a  theme ;  but  one  has  to  learn 
that  there  are  different  ways  for  every  thing,  and  no 
one  who  knows  much  will  assume  that  he  has  the 
best.  Owing  to  the  change  of  the  scale,  I  suppose  I 
missed  the  sentiment  of  every  piece  performed.  When 
I  thought  they  were  giving  us  a  wail  for  the  dead  it 
turned  out  to  be  a  warm  welcome,  and  an  assurance  on 


Gahazi  Girls.  45 

the  part  of  those  pretty  maidens  of  their  happiness  in 
being  permitted  the  great  honor  of  performing  before 
such  illustrious  visitors.  Our  companion,  Mile.  Rio, 
took  one  of  the  instruments  and  played  and  sang  a 
piece  for  us,  but  I  was  not  more  fortunate  in  my  guess 
with  her.  It  was  a  wedding  chorus,  which  I  was  willing 
to  wager  was  the  Japanese  "  Miserere  " ;  but  this  error 
may  have  its  significance  after  all.  To  us,  in  short,  the 
music  was  execrable.  A  falsetto,  and  a  grinding,  sing- 
song falsetto  at  that — the  most  disagreeable  sound  I 
ever  heard  in  music — is  very  common,  and  highly  es- 
teemed. The  instruments  resemble  banjos,  and  there  is 
a  harsh  kind  of  drum  accompaniment ;  but  there  is  one 
larger  string  instrument,  the  Japanese  piano,  upon 
which  much  older  women  play,  the  younger  girls  not 
being  sufficiently  skilled  to  perform  upon  it. 

After  a  few  songs  had  been  sung,  several  of  the  girls 
laid  down  their  banjos,  and  after  obeisance  prepared  to 
dance.  Instead  of  being  a  sprightly  performance  to 
lively  music,  "  first  ae  caper  syne  anither,"  Japanese 
dancing  is  a  very  stately  and  measured  performance,  the 
body  instead  of  the  feet  being  most  brought  into  requi- 
sition. With  the  aid  of  the  indispensable  fan  the  girls 
succeed  in  depicting  many  different  emotions,  and  all 
with  exquisite  grace.  It  is  the  very  poetry  of  motion. 
Each  dance  illustrates  a  story,  and  is  as  well  known  by 
name  as  is  the  "  Highland  Fling  "  or  the  "  Sailor's  Horn- 
pipe."    Here  there  was  no  difficulty  in  following  the 


46  Round  the   World. 

story.  Unlike  music,  acting  is  a  universal  language, 
and  in  its  domain  "  one  touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole 
world  kin."  There  are  no  different  scales  for  the  ex- 
pression of  feeling.  Love,  in  some  of  its  manifold 
forms,  as  was  to  have  been  expected,  is  the  theme 
of  most  of  these  dances.  I  redeemed  my  reputation 
here  as  a  guesser,  I  think.  I  could  give  a  very  fair  re- 
port to  Mile.  Rio  of  most  that  took  place  in  the  dances, 
and  we  enjoyed  this  portion  of  the  entertainment  highly. 
To  a  Japanese,  how  stupid  our  people  must  appear 
whirling  round  a  room  until  fatigued  or  dizzy,  all  for  the 
fun  of  the  thing ! 

The  dresses  of  the  girls  were  of  the  richest  and  most 
fashionable  description,  the  quietness  of  the  colors  sur- 
prising us,  and  their  manners  those  of  high-born  women. 
Indeed,  they  set  the  fashions,  and  are  the  best  educated 
and  most  accomplished  of  their  sex.  These  girls  are 
sent  for  to  furnish  entertainment  for  an  evening  just  as 
we  would  engage  a  band  for  a  party.  They  are  said  to 
be  highly  respectable  as  a  class,  invariably  reside  with 
their  parents,  who  educate  them  at  great  expense,  and 
often  make,  we  were  told,  very  favorable  marriages.  The 
contrast  between  them  and  their  less  accomplished  sis- 
ters is  so  great  as  to  strike  even  us,  who  have  been  here 
only  a  few  days,  and  must  be  held  ignorant  of  style. 

The  most  wonderful  sights  of  Tokio  are  the  temples 
and  the  famous  tombs  of  the  Tycoons.  There  is  much 
similarity  in  the  latter,  but  that  of  the  sixth  Tycoon,  at 


Tombs  of  the   Tycoons.  47 

Shibba,  is  by  far  the  most  magnificent.  It  has  been 
rendered  familiar  by  photographs  and  engravings,  and  at 
any  rate  no  description  would  convey  a  just  idea  of  it. 
It  is  gorgeous  in  color,  and  the  extreme  delicacy  of  the 
gold  is  surprising;  upon  it,  too,  are  found  the  finest 
known  specimens  of  the  old  lacquer.  But  these  tombs 
totally  failed  to  impress  me  with  any  feeling  akin  to  rev- 
erence ;  indeed,  nothing  in  Japan  seems  calculated  to  do 
so — the  odor  of  the  toyshop  pervades  everything,  even 
their  temples.  As  for  their  religious  belief,  it  is  hard  to 
tell  what  it  is,  or  whether  they  have  any.  One  thing  is 
sure,  the  educated  classes  have  discarded  the  faith  of 
the  multitude,  if  they  ever  really  entertained  it,  and  no 
longer  worship  the  gods  of  old.  The  ignorant  classes, 
however,  are  seen  pouring  into  the  temples  with  their 
modest  offerings,  and  asking  for  prayers  in  their  behalf. 
It  is  in  Japan  as  it  was  in  Greece — one  religion  for  the 
masses,  and  another,  or  rather  none  in  the  ordinary 
sense,  for  the  educated  few. 

As  in  Catholic  countries,  some  shrines  are  esteemed 
more  than  others.  The  Temple  of  the  Foxes  is  the 
most  popular  in  the  Empire.  It  is  adorned  with  statues 
of  Master  Reynard  in  various  postures.  His  votaries 
are  numerous,  for  the  sagacity  of  the  fox  has  passed 
into  a  proverb,  and  these  people  hope  by  prayers  and 
gifts  to  move  the  fox-god  to  bestow  upon  them  the 
shrewdness  of  the  symbol.  The  fox  may  be  justly  rated 
as  the  most  successful  preacher  in  Japan  :  he  draws  bet' 


48  Rotmd  the    World. 

ter  than  any  other,  and  his  congregation  is  the  largest ; 
but  he  has  a  rival  not  without  pretensions  in  the  favorite 
goddess  "  Emma."  We  found  her  to  be  a  large,  very- 
fat  woman,  sitting  in  Japanese  style,  and  surrounded  by 
images  of  children.  Babies  cluster  like  cherubs  around 
the  principal  figure,  while  an  attendant  sells  for  a  cent 
apiece  ugly  painted  ones  made  out  of  clay,  many  of 
which  have  been  placed  by  worshippers  before  the  god- 
dess. As  we  approached,  a  young  woman — married,  for 
her  teeth  were  black,  and  respectably  but  not  richly 
dressed — was  on  her  knees  before  the  goddess  so  earn- 
estly engaged  in  prayer  that  she  appeared  wholly  un- 
conscious of  our  presence.  There  was  no  mistaking  that 
this  was  sincere  devotion — a  lifting  up  of  the  soul  to 
some  power  considered  higher  than  itself.  I  became 
most  anxious  to  know  what  sorrow  could  so  move  her, 
and  our  interpreter  afterward  told  us  that  she  asked  but 
one  gift  from  the  goddess.  It  was  the  prayer  of  old 
that  a  man-child  should  be  born  to  her ;  and,  poor  wom- 
an !  when  one  knows  what  her  life  must  be  in  this 
country  should  this  prayer  remain  unanswered,  it  sad- 
dens one  to  think  of  it.  A  living  death ;  another 
installed  in  her  place;  all  that  woman  holds  dear 
trembling  in  the  balance.  How  I  pitied  her!  I  also 
saw  men  praying  before  other  idols  and  working  them- 
selves into  a  state  of  frenzy.  Indeed  I  saw  so  much  in 
the  temples  to  make  me  unhappy  that  I  wished  I  had 
never  visited  any  of  them.     It  gives  one  such  despond- 


A  Shinto   Teinple.  49 

ing  hopes  of  our  race,  of  its  present  and  of  its  future, 
when  so  many  are  so  bound  down  to  the  lowest  form  of 
superstition. 

At  one  of  the  principal  Shinto  temples  I  saw  the 
sacred  dance  with  which  that  great  god  is  propitiated. 
In  a  booth  two  stories  high,  in  front  of  the  temple,  was 
a  small  stage  upon  which  sat  three  old  priests.  One 
beat  a  drum,  the  second  played  a  flute,  while  the  third 
fingered  a  guitar.  To  this  music  a  very  pretty  young 
daughter  of  a  priest,  gorgeously  arrayed  in  sacred  robes, 
postured  with  a  fan,  keeping  time  to  the  music.  This 
was  all.  But,  like  the  tom-tom  beating  of  the  Buddhist 
which  we  heard  at  the  same  moment  from  an  opposite 
temple,  the  dance  is  thought  to  dispose  the  gods  to  re- 
ceive favorably  the  gifts  and  prayers  of  the  devotees. 
We  saw  at  the  same  temple  a  large  wooden  figure  .which 
is  reputed  able  to  cure  all  manner  of  diseases.  So  much 
and  so  hard  had  this  figure  been  rubbed  by  the  poor 
sufferers  that  the  nose  is  no  longer  there ;  the  face  is 
literally  rubbed  smooth.  The  ears  are  gone,  and  it  is 
only  a  question  of  time  when  all  traces  of  human  form 
will  have  vanished.  It  reminded  us  of  the  toe  of  St. 
Peter,  in  the  cathedral  at  Rome,  which  has  been  worn 
smooth  by  the  osculations  of  devout  Christians. 

Japan  is  rapidly  adopting  the  manners  and  customs 
of  European  civilization.  There  is  at  present  a  cry  for 
representative  government,  and  one  need  not  be  sur- 
prised to  hear  by  and  by  of  the  Parliament  of  Japan. 
4 


50  Roitnd  the   World. 

War-ships  are  building  at  the  arsenal,  which  are  not 
only  constructed  but  designed  by  native  genius.  A 
standing  army  of  about  50,000  men  is  maintained.  Gas 
has  been  introduced  in  some  places,  and  railroads  and 
telegraphs  are  in  operation ;  and,  not  to  be  behind  their 
neighbors,  a  public  debt  and  irredeemable  currency 
(based  upon  the  property  of  the  nation,  of  course,) 
have  been  created.  The  currency  is  now  at  22  per 
cent,  discount  as  compared  with  gold,  and  further  de- 
preciation is  apprehended.  (It  has  since  reached  50  per 
cent,  discount.)  It  is  modelled  on  our  American  pa- 
per money,  and  is  actually  printed  in  New  York.  Let 
us  hope  that  Japan  may  soon  be  able  to  follow  the  Re- 
public farther  by  making  it  convertible — as  good  as 
gold.  Notwithstanding  its  wide  "  base  " — in  short,  our 
greenbackers'  "  base  " — it  doesn't  seem  to  work  here  any 
better  than  at  home. 

Art  in  Japan  is  utilitarian ;  in  no  other  country  are 
articles  of  common  use  so  artistic.  The  furniture  of  a 
Japanese  house  is  scanty.  We  see  no  walls  hung  with 
pictures  with  showy  gilt  frames,  no  portieres  or  cur- 
tains, none  of  the  sofas,  chairs,  tables,  brackets,  chande- 
liers, etc.,  which  give  our  rooms  so  crowded  an  appear- 
ance. The  bareness  of  the  rooms  strikes  one  at  once 
upon  entering,  but  when  one  examines  the  utensils  in 
daily  use  even  by  the  poorer  classes  he  sees  that  they 
are  of  uncommon  beauty.  Surely  this  is  of  more  mo- 
ment than  to  have  art  confined  to  the  few,  both  as  to 


Art  in  the  East.  51 

articles  and  to  persons.  In.  Japan,  art  may  be  said  to 
be  democratic ;  all  classes  are  brought  under  its  sway. 

One  thing  must  be  said,  however,  about  art  through- 
out the  East,  in  China  and  in  India  as  well  as  in  Japan : 
up  to  this  time  it  has  been  content  to  remain  solely 
decorative.  The  higher  creative  and  imaginative  power 
has  yet  to  be  reached.  Why  this  should  be  so  is 
an  interesting  question,  and  I  resolve  to  read  up  the 
authorities  when  opportunity  offers  and  see  how  they 
account  for  it.  May  not  the  poverty  of  the  East  have 
much  to  do  with  it  ?  So  very  few  are  rich ;  indeed, 
scarcely  any  are  opulent  in  our  sense,  six  thousand  dol- 
lars (^1,200)  a  year  being  considered  a  fortune  in  Japan, 
I  am  told,  and  very  few,  even  of  the  higher  classes,  pos- 
sess as  much.  In  China  and  India  it  is  much  the  same, 
a  few  rajahs  in  the  latter  country  excepted. 

The  start  which  religion  gave  to  art  in  Europe  is 
wanting  in  the  East,  for  the  temples  are  mean  and 
destitute  of  costly  works.  Rich  commercial  and  manu- 
facturing classes  do  not  exist  in  the  East — as  wealth 
does  not  run  into  "pockets"  as  it  does  in  Europe — es- 
pecially in  England — and  in  America.  I  fear,  therefore, 
that  art  in  the  East  will  not  advance  much  beyond  the 
decorative  stage  for  centuries  to  come. 


Saturday,  November  23. 
Vandy  and  I  walked  to-day  through  the  principal 
street  of  Tokio  from  end  to  end,  a  distance  of  three 


52  Round  the    World. 

miles.  It  is  a  fine,  broad  avenue,  crowded  with  peo- 
ple and  vehicles  drawn  or  pushed  by  men.  There 
is  also  a  line  of  small  one-horse  wagons  running  as 
omnibuses  on  the  street — a  novel  feature,  unknown 
anywhere  else  in  the  Empire.  Our  appearance  at- 
tracted such  crowds  whenever  we  stopped  at  a  shop, 
that  the  police  had  to  drive  the  gazers  away.  The  city 
is  built  upon  a  plain,  and  supplied  with  water  by  wells 
only.  Fires  are  of  frequent  occurrence.  Japanese  cit- 
ies are  such  piles  of  combustible  material  that  I  wonder 
they  exist  at  all.  But  fires  are  little  used — only  a  brazier 
of  charcoal  now  and  then  for  cooking  purposes ;  and  as 
most  of  the  people  eat  at  cook-shops,  there  is  never  any 
fire  at  all  in  many  of  the  houses.  Long  ladders  are 
erected  as  fire-towers,  and  upon  these  watchmen  sit 
through  the  night  to  give  the  alarm.  It  is  only  by 
tearing  down  or  blowing  up  surrounding  houses  that 
the  progress  of  a  fire  can  generally  be  stayed.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  insurance  in  Japan,  the  risks  being 
much  too  great. 

The  Japanese  go  to  the  theatre  early  in  the  morning 
and  remain  until  five  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Doors 
open  at  five  A.M.,  but  the  rich  classes  do  not  appear 
before  six  or  seven  o'clock,  at  which  hour  the  perform- 
ance begins.  Breakfast  is  served  in  the  theatre  about 
noon.  The  audience  smoke,  eat,  sip  tea,  and  enjoy 
themselves  as  they  choose.  No  seats  are  provided, 
but  a  small   mat  is  put  down  for   each  person    as  he 


Marriage  Ceremonies.  53 

enters,  and  beside  it  a  box  filled  with  sand,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  which  are  two  pieces  of  glowing  charcoal,  at  which 
pipes  are  lighted.  Ladies,  as  well  as  gentlemen,  be  it 
remembered,  invariably  smoke  in  Japan.  Every  one 
carries  a  small  pipe  with  a  long  stem,  and  a  tobacco- 
pouch  attached  to  it.  At  short  intervals  a  little  tobacco 
is  put  into  the  pipe — just  enough  to  give  two  whiffs 
of  smoke — after  which  the  tobacco  is  knocked  out  and 
the  pipe  again  replenished.  In  no  case  have  I  ever 
seen  more  than  two  very  small  whiffs  taken  at  one  time. 
Even  young  ladies  smoke  in  this  manner,  and  to  one 
who  detests  tobacco,  as  I  instinctively  do,  it  may  be 
imag-ined  this  habit  did  not  add  to  their  attractive- 
ness.  A  sweetheart  who  defiled  her  lips  with  tobacco ! 
"Phew!"  Neither  is  it  considered  disrespectful  in  any 
degree  to  begin  smoking  in  the  presence  of  others. 
Deferential  as  the  singing  girls  were,  when  at  leisure 
they  lighted  their  pipes  as  a  matter  of  course,  wholly 
unconscious  that  they  were  taking  a  liberty. 

The  marriage  ceremony  differs  greatly  from  ours. 
The  priests  have  nothing  to  do  with  it,  nor  is  there  any 
religious  ceremony.  The  parents  of  a  young  man  select 
a  proper  wife  for  him  when  he  is  about  twenty  years  of 
age,  and  manage  the  whole  affair.  They  consult  the 
young  lady's  parents,  and  if  the  match  is  a  satisfactory 
one  to  them,  writings  are  exchanged  between  the  par- 
ents of  the  young  couple,  the  day  is  appointed,  and  the 
bride  and  groom  drink  saki  from  the  same  cup  ;  feasting 


54  Round  the   World. 

and  rejoicings  follow,  sometimes  continued  for  several 
days  if  the  parents  are  wealthy,  and  the  marriage  is 
consummated.  In  all  cases  the  bride  goes  to  reside 
with  the  husband's  parents,  to  whom,  much  more  than 
to  the  husband,  it  is  necessary  she  should  continue  to  be 
satisfactory.  Very  often  three  generations  live  together, 
and  an  amount  of  deference  is  paid  to  the  oldest  such  as 
we  have  no  conception  of. 

The  custom  of  blacking  the  teeth  by  married  women, 
is  the  most  revolting  practice  I  have  yet  seen.  I  have 
been  in  the  houses  of  fine  people  of  Japan,  and  seen 
women,  otherwise  good-looking,  who  had  only  to  open 
their  lips  to  convert  themselves  into  objects  of  disgust. 
I  rejoice,  therefore,  to  hear  that  fashion  is  setting  in 
against  this  abomination,  and  that  some  of  the  more 
recent  brides  have  refused  to  conform  to  the  custom. 

One  readily  gets  used  to  anything,  earthquakes  in- 
cluded, and  Japan  has  many  of  these  unruly  visitors. 
One  night  we  had  three  shocks  at  Tokio,  one  sufficiently 
strong  to  wake  me  from  sleep.  My  bed  shook  violently, 
and  the  house  threatened  to  fall  upon  us.  The  same 
night  we  had  a  large  fire  in  the  city,  and  a  hundred 
shrill,  tinkling  bells,  like  so  many  cows  in  the  woods, 
were  rung  to  give  the  alarm.  The  clapping  of  the  night 
watchmen  about  our  street  assured  me,  however,  that  it 
was  all  right  with  us,  and  I  lay  still.  The  night  watch- 
men here  use  two  small  square  pieces  of  hard  wood 
which  they  strike  frequently  against  each  other  as  they 


Yokohama  Arsenal.  55 

go  the  rounds  as  their  "  All's  well  "  signal ;  but  I  think 
strangers,  as  a  rule,  fail  to  appreciate  the  point  in  being 
awakened  every  now  and  then  simply  to  be  assured  that 
there  is  not  the  slightest  occasion  for  their  being  awake 
at  all. 


Monday,  November  25. 

To-day  we  took  a  small  steamer  and  visited  the  ar- 
senal upon  the  invitation  of  our  friend  Captain  To- 
taki,  Mile.  Rio  being  of  the  party.  It  is  finely  situated 
on  the  bay  about  fifteen  miles  below  Yokohama,  and  is 
quite  extensive,  having  good  shops  filled  with  modern 
tools.  Several  ships  have  already  been  built  here,  and 
two  men-of-war  are  now  upon  the  stocks — another  evi- 
dence of  so-called  civilization.  Japan,  you  see,  is  ambi- 
tious. All  the  officials,  foremen,  and  mechanics,  are 
natives,  and  these  have  proved  their  ability  in  every 
department.  The  wages  paid  surprise  us.  All  branches 
are  about  upon  an  equality.  Painters,  moulders,  black- 
smiths, carpenters,  machinists,  all  get  the  same  compen- 
sation— from  25  to  40  cents  per  day,  according  to  their 
respective  value  as  workmen  ;  common  labor,  outside, 
18  cents;  shop  labor,  inside,  25  cents;  foreman  of  de- 
partment, 880  per  month.  Work,  nine  hours  per  day, 
every  tenth  day  being  a  day  of  rest  corresponding  to 
our  Sunday.  In  addition  to  the  two  men-of-war  under 
construction,  the  machinery  for  which  is  all  designed 
and  manufactured  here,  the  Emperor  is  having  built  for 
his  private  use  a  large  side-wheel  yacht,  which  promises 


56  Round  the    World. 

to  be  magnificent.  However  poor  a  nation  may  be,  or 
however  depreciated  its  currency,  if  it  set  up  an  em- 
peror, king,  or  queen,  improper  personal  expenditure 
inevitably  follows.  Even  as  good  a  woman  as  Queen 
Victoria,  probably  the  most  respectable  woman  who 
ever  occupied  a  throne — such  a  character  as  one  would 
not  hesitate  to  introduce  to  his  family  circle,  which  is 
saying  much  for  a  monarch — will  squander  thirty  thou- 
sand pounds  per  annum  of  the  people's  money  on  a 
private  yacht  which  she  has  used  but  a  few  times,  and 
which  is  one  of  three  she  insists  upon  keeping  at  the 
State's  expense.  It  is  the  old  story :  make  any  human 
being  believe  he  is  born  to  position  and  he  becomes 
arbitrary  and  inconsiderate  of  those  who  have  exalted 
him.  Serves  the  foolish  ones  right,  I  suppose  is  the 
proper  verdict.  But  one  is  not  indignant  at  the  wor- 
ship of  their  emperor  by  the  Japanese :  he  is  a  real 
ruler,  has  power,  and  stands  firmly  upon  divine  right. 
The  Japanese  are  yet  children  politically  ;  but  the  Eng- 
lish should  be  out  of  their  swaddling-clothes,  surely. 

The  captain  being  high  in  command,  and  this  being 
his  first  visit  to  the  arsenal  since  his  return  from  a  tour 
round  the  world,  he  was  received  by  the  officials  with 
manifestations  of  delight.  We  had  another  opportunity 
of  seeing  the  bowing  practice  in  its  fullest  development. 
The  various  foremen  as  they  approached  bowed  three 
times  almost  to  the  ground,  and  in  some  cases  they 
went  first  upon  their  knees  and  struck  the  floor  three 


Earthquakes.  57 

times  with  their  foreheads.  We  were  afterward  in- 
formed that  only  a  few  years  ago  these  would  have 
added  to  the  obeisance  by  extending  the  arms  to  their 
full  length  and  placing  the  palms  of  the  hands  flat  upon 
the  ground  ;  now  this  is  omitted,  and  I  have  no  doubt, 
as  intelligence  spreads,  less  and  less  of  this  deference 
will  be  exacted.  But  up  to  this  date  it  may  safely  be 
said  Japan  is  in  the  condition  of  Sir  Pertinax  MacSyco- 
phant,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  admitted  that  his 
success  came  from  "  booing."  He  "  never  could  stand 
strecht  in  the  presence  of  a  great  man; "  no  more  can  a 
Japanese. 

My  writing  has  just  been  interrupted  by  another 
earthquake  shock.  My  chair  began  to  tremble,  then 
the  house ;  I  could  not  write,  and  looking  up  I  saw 
Vandy  standing  in  amazement.  For  a  few  moments  it 
seemed  as  if  we  were  rocking  to  pieces,  and  that  the 
end  of  all  things  had  come.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
sensation.  The  motion  of  a  ship  rolling  at  sea  trans- 
ferred to  land,  where  you  have  the  solid  earth  and 
heavy  stone  walls  surrounding  and  threatening  to  fall 
upon  you,  is  far  from  agreeable;  but  it  passed  away, 
and  old  Mother  Earth  became  steady  once  more. 

The  way  to  buy  in  Japan  is  not  by  visiting  the 
shops,  for  there  nothing  is  displayed,  and  a  stranger 
has  infinite  difficulty  in  learning  where  certain  articles 
are  to  be  found  ;  but  just  intimate  to  your  *'  boy  "  what 
you  wish,  and  at  your  door  in  a  few  minutes  stand  not 


58  Round  the   World. 

one  or  two  merchants,  but  five  or  six,  all  bowing  as  you 
pass  in  or  out,  and  awaiting  master's  pleasure  to  exam- 
ine their  wares.  They  leave  any  articles  you  may  wish 
to  decide  upon,  and  the  result  is  that  one's  rooms  be- 
come perfect  bazaars.  The  most  unpleasant  feature 
connected  with  purchasing  is  that  everything  is  a  mat- 
ter of  bargain.  A  price  is  named,  and  you  are  expected 
to  make  an  offer.  Vandy  is  a  great  success  at  this 
game,  and  seems  to  enjoy  it.  I  am  strictly  prohibited 
from  interfering,  and  so  escape  all  trouble.  It  is  always 
comforting  to  know  that  one's  interests  are  in  much 
abler  hands  than  his  own,  and  I  always  have  this  pleas- 
ure when  Vandy  is  about. 

Wherever  we  go,  Fusiyama  looks  down  upon  us. 
What  a  beautiful  cone  it  is,  and  how  grandly  it  pierces 
the  heavens,  its  summit  clad  with  perpetual  snow !  No 
wonder  that  the  Japanese  represent  it  on  so  many  of 
their  articles.  Thousands  of  pilgrims  flock  to  it  annu- 
ally from  all  parts  of  the  Empire,  for  it  is  their  sacred 
mount  and  the  gods  reward  such  as  worship  at  this 
shrine.  It  was  once  an  active  volcano ;  but  there  has 
been  no  eruption  since  about  1700,  when  ashes  were 
thrown  from  it  into  Yeddo,  sixty  miles  away.  The 
crater  is  nearly  five  hundred  feet  deep.  Fusiyama 
stands  alone  among  mountains,  a  vast  pyramid  rising 
as  Cheops  does  from  the  plain,  no  "  rascally  com- 
parative "  near  to  dispute  its  sway. 


Kioto.  59 

Wednesday,  November  27. 
We  sail  to-day  for  Shanghai,  leaving  Yokohama 
with  sincere  regret ;  nor  shall  we  soon  forget  the  good, 
kind  faces  of  those  who  have  done  so  much  to  make 
our  visit  to  Japan  an  agreeable  one.  Had  it  been 
possible  to  remain  until  Saturday  I  should  have  been 
greatly  tempted  to  do  so  to  accept  an  invitation  received 
to  respond  to  a  toast  at  St.  Andrew's  banquet.  It 
would  surely  have  stirred  me  to  hold  forth  on  Scot- 
land's glory  to  my  fellow-countrymen  in  Japan ;  but  this 
had  to  be  foregone.  At  Kiobe  the  steamer  lay  for 
twenty-four  hours,  and  this  enabled  us  to  run  up  by  rail 
to  Kioto,  the  former  residence  of  the  Mikado,  reputed 
to  be  the  Paris  of  Japan.  The  city  itself  deserves  this 
reputation  about  as  well  as  Cincinnati  does  that  of  our 
American  Paris,  which  I  see  some  one  has  called  it. 
Kioto  is  only  a  mass  of  poor  one-story  buildings,  but  its 
situation  is  beautiful,  and  cannot  probably  be  equalled 
elsewhere  in  the  Empire,  and  this  one  can  justly  say  of 
Cincinnati  as  well,  while  the  beauty  of  Paris  is  of  the 
city  and  not  at  all  rural.  There  are  more  pretty  toy 
villas  embowered  in  trees  upon  the  little  hills  about 
Kioto  than  we  saw  in  all  other  parts  of  Japan.  The 
temples  at  Kioto  are  much  inferior  to  those  at  Shibba. 
Our  journey  enabled  us  to  see  about  seventy  miles  of 
the  interior,  and  we  were  again  impressed  by  the  evi- 
dences on  every  hand  of  a  teeming  population.  Gangs 
of  men  and  women  were  everywhere  at  work  upon  small 


6o  Round  the    World. 

patches  of  ground,  six  or  seven  persons  being  busily  en- 
gaged  sometimes  on  less  than  one  acre.  It  is  not  farm- 
ing; there  is  in  Japan  scarcely  such  a  thing  as  farming 
in  our  sense  ;  it  is  a  system  of  gardening  such  as  we  see 
in  the  neighborhood  of  large  cities.  Compared  with 
that  prevalent  throughout  the  whole  country,  I  have 
seen  nothing  equal  to  it  in  thoroughness,  not  even  in. 
Belgium. 

We  are  upon  the  old  steamer  Costa  Rica,  now  be- 
longing to  the  Japanese  Company,  which  recently  pur- 
chased this  and  other  boats  from  the  Pacific  Mail  Com- 
pany. Among  our  cargo  is  a  large  lot  of  live  turkeys 
which  some  pushing  Jap  is  taking  over  to  Shanghai 
for  Christmas ;  and  listen,  you  favored  souls  who  revel 
in  the  famous  bird  at  a  dollar  a  head,  your  fellow  coun- 
trymen in  China  have  to  pay  ten  dollars  for  their  Christ- 
mas turkey.  It  is  said  the  Chinese  climate  is  too  damp 
for  the  noble  bird ;  but  it  flourishes  in  Japan.  I  wish 
the  exporter  who  thus  develops  the  resources  of  his 
country  much  profit  on  his  venture.  But  it  strikes  me 
that,  instead  of  the  eagle,  the  more  useful  gobbler  has 
superior  claims  to  be  voted  the  national  bird  of  Amer- 
ica. "  A  turkey  for  a  dollar  !  "  repeated  the  shipper  as 
I  told  him  our  price;  "a  turkey  for  a  dollar — what  a 
country  !  "  The  climate  of  Northern  China  is  not  fa- 
vorable for  Europeans,  and  many  take  a  run  over  to 
Japan  to  recuperate,  a  fact  which  argues  much  for  the 
future   of  Japan.     Although  our  ship  belongs  to  the 


Japanese  vs.  Chinese.  6i 

Japanese,  the  servants  are  generally  Chinamen,  and  the 
agent  explains  this  by  informing  us  that  while  the 
former  do  very  well  until  they  arrive  at  the  age  of  man- 
hood, they  then  begin  to  develop  more  ambitious  ideas 
and  cannot  be  managed,  while  with  the  Chinese  a 
"  boy  "  (a  servant  throughout  the  East  is  called  "  boy  ") 
is  always  a  boy,  and  is  constantly  on  the  watch  to 
serve  his  master.  Again,  the  Japs  are  pugnacious,  a 
race  of  little  game-cocks,  always  in  for  a  fight,  espe- 
cially with  a  Chinaman.  The  captain  told  us  the  other 
day  a  great  big  Chinaman  had  complained  to  him  that 
one  of  the  Japs  had  abused  him.  Upon  calling  up  the 
belligerent,  he  proved  to  be  such  a  small  specimen  that 
the  captain  asked  the  sufferer  why  he  hadn't  picked  him 
up  and  thrown  him  overboard.  The  complaint  was  dis- 
missed :  served  the  big  fellow  right.  But  some  mission- 
ary should  expound  the  civilized  doctrine  to  him,  per 
revised  edition,  which  reads:  "When  smitten  on  the 
one  cheek,  turn  to  the  smiter  the  other  also,  but  if  he 
smites  you  on  that,  go  for  hmt''  To-morrow  is  to  be 
one  of  the  great  days  of  our  trip,  for  we  shall  enter  the 
famous  inland  sea  of  Japan  at  daybreak.  Will  it  be  fine 
to-morrow?  is  the  question  with  all  on  board.  The 
signs  are  earnestly  discussed.  The  sun  sets  favorably, 
and  I   quote  Shakespeare  to  them,  which  settles  the 

question : 

"  The  weary  sun  hath  made  a  golden  set, 
And  by  the  bright  track  of  his  fiery  car 
Gives  token  of  a  goodly  day  to-morrow." 


62  Round  the   World. 

Let  to-morrow  be  fair,  whatever  we  may  miss  here- 
after.    This  is  the  universal  sentiment. 


Saturday,  November  30. 
What  a  day  this  has  been !  Many  a  rich  experience 
which  seemed  grand  enough  never  to  fade  from  the 
memory  may  pass  into  obhvion,  but  no  mortal  can  ever 
sail  through  the  inland  sea  of  Japan  on  a  fine  day  and 
cease  to  remember  it  till  the  day  he  dies.  It  deserves 
its  reputation  as  the  most  beautiful  voyage  in  the  world ; 
at  least  I  cannot  conceive  how,  taking  the  elements  of 
earth,  water  and  sky,  anything  more  exquisitely 
beautiful  could  be  produced  from  them.  Entering  the 
narrow  sea  at  sunrise,  we  sail  for  three  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  through  three  thousand  pretty  islands, 

"Which  seem  to  stand 
To  sentinel  enchanted  land." 

These  divide  the  water,  making,  not  one  but  a 
dozen  pretty  lakes  in  view  at  once.  It  is  the  Lakes  of 
Killarney,  or  the  English  or  Scotch  lakes,  multiplied  a 
hundred-fold ;  but  instead  of  the  islands  and  mountains 
being  in  pasture,  they  are  cultivated  to  their  very  tops, 
terraced  in  every  form,  in  order  to  utilize  every  rod  of 
ground.  On  the  shores  cluster  villages,  nestling  in 
sheltered  nooks,  while  the  water  swarms  with  the  sails 
of  tiny  fishing  boats,  giving  a  sense  of  warm,  happy  life 
throughout.  These  sail-boats  add  greatly  to  the  beauty 
of  the  scene.     I  counted  at  one  time  from  the  bow  of 


Inland  Sea.  63 

our  steamer,  without  looking  back,  ninety-seven  sails 
glistening  in  the  sun,  while  on  the  hills  were  seen 
everywhere  gangs  of  people  at  work  upon  their  little 
farm-gardens.  It  is  a  panorama  of  busy,  crowded  life, 
but  life  under  most  beautiful  surroundings,  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  and  we  all  vote  that  never  before  have 
we,  in  a  like  space  of  time,  seen  so  much  of  fairy-land 
as  upon  this  ever-memorable  day.  We  begin  to  under- 
stand how  the  thirty  odd  millions  of  the  Japanese  exist 
upon  so  small  an  area.  The  rivers  and  seas  abound  in 
fish  ;  the  hills  and  valleys  under  irrigation  and  constant 
labor  grow  their  rice,  millet,  and  vegetables.  A  few  dol- 
lars per  year  supply  all  the  clothing  needed,  and  a  few 
dollars  build  their  light  wooden  houses.  Thus  they  have 
everything  they  need,  or  consider  necessary,  and  are 
happy  as  the  day  is  long,  certain  of  one  established  fact 
in  nature,  to  wit,  that  there  is  no  place  like  Japan;  and 
no  doubt  they  daily  and  hourly  thank  their  stars  that 
their  lines  have  fallen  in  pleasant  places,  and  pity  us — 
slaves  to  imaginary  wants — who  deny  ourselves  the 
present  happiness  they  consider  it  wisdom  to  enjoy,  in 
vain  hopes  of  banquetting  to  surfeit  at  some  future 
time,  which  always  comes  too  late. 

On  emerging  from  this  fairy  scene,  we  encountered  a 
gale  upon  the  China  Sea,  which  lasted  for  the  few 
hours  we  were  upon  it  before  reaching  Nagasaki,  the 
last  port  of  Japan.  Here,  two  hundred  years  ago,  the 
Dutch  secured  a  small  island,  from  which  they  traded 


64  Round  the   World. 

with  Japan  long  before  any  other  nation  was  permitted 
to  do  so.  The  CathoHcs  also  had  their  headquarters 
here.  They  were  so  successful  in  converting  the  natives 
that  the  government  became  alarmed,  and  several 
thousand  Christians  were  driven  to  the  island  and  all 
massacred.  This  was  in  the  sixteenth  century ;  but  it 
is  only  a  few  years  ago  that  seven  thousand  native 
Catholics  were  banished  from  this  region.  To-day  all  is 
changed.  These  fugitives  have  been  permitted  to  re- 
turn, and  there  is  entire  freedom  of  religious  worship. 
Last  month  a  return  was  made  of  professing  Christians 
(Catholics)  in  this  district,  and  thirty-five  thousand 
were  reported.     Protestants  are  very  few  indeed. 

As  far  as  I  saw  in  the  East,  here  is  the  only  real  and 
considerable  advance  made  toward  christianizing  a  peo- 
ple. At  other  stations  throughout  my  journey  I.  saw 
only  a  few  ignorant  natives  who  professed  Christianity 
— sometimes  a  dozen  or  two,  rarely  more.  European 
residents  invariably  told  me  that  these  were  the  depend- 
ants or  servants  of  foreigners  who  held  their  places 
mainly  because  of  their  conversion  to  the  new  faith.  If 
dismissed,  they  relapsed.  One  can  readily  see  that  the 
lowest  and  most  unscrupulous  would  be  the  first  to  fall 
before  the  almost  irresistible  temptation,  for  a  means  of 
comfortable  livelihood  seems  the  one  serious  concern  of 
life  in  all  the  East  to  a  degree  difificult  for  us  in  America, 
at  least,  to  imagine. 

I  remember  the  dear,  kind  Catholic  Bishop  of  Canton 


Christianity  in  Japan,  65 

telling  me  with  such  delicious  simplicity  that  every 
workman  engaged  in  building  the  Cathedral — a  work  of 
many  years  and  yet  unfinished — had  by  the  grace  of 
God  been  converted  to  Holy  Mother  Church.  The 
hotel-keeper  told  me  afterward  this  so-called  conversion 
was  a  source  of  much  amusement  among  the  natives. 
Well,  be  it  so.  I  believe,  myself,  that  the  holy  father 
is  the  victim  of  misplaced  confidence.  But  here  in  Nag- 
asaki nothing  like  this  can  be  said.  Thirty-five  thou- 
sand professing  Christians  in  a  district  where  there  are 
not  a  hundred  foreign  Christian  families,  if  half  so 
many,  and  where  to  be  a  Christian  is  to  declare  one's  self 
of  the  minority  and  so  out  of  fashion,  surely  this  does 
prove  that  the  Church  has  succeeded,  and  justifies  it  in 
hoping  that  ere  long  this  part  of  Japan  at  least  will 
one  day  enter  the  fold. 

One  great  reason  for  this  undoubted  success  is  proba- 
bly that  neither  the  Government  nor  the  people  have 
the  slightest  objection  to  missionaries,  for  their  own  re- 
ligion sets  but  lightly  on  the  Japanese.  With  the  China- 
man it  is  totally  different.  His  own  religion  is  sacred  to 
him,  a  vital  force,  and  his  gods  must  not  be  defamed. 
He  stands  by  his  faith  like  a  Covenanter.  It  touches 
the  most  sacred  feelings  of  his  nature,  and  is  everything 
to  him.  Mrs.  D.  O.  Hill's  celebrated  statue  of  Living- 
stone in  Prince's  Gardens,  Edinburgh,  therefore,  repre- 
sents too  truly  the  attitude  of  our  missionaries  in  the 
flowery  land  as  well  as  in  other  so-called  heathen  lands: 
5 


66  Round  the  World. 

the  Bible  in  one  hand  and  the  pistol  in  the  other.  In 
Japan  the  pistol  is  wholly  unnecessary.  The  man  of 
Japan  regards  missionaries  as  harmless  curiosities,  and  if 
not  disposed  to  trouble  himself  about  their  new  ideas,  he 
has  not  the  least  objection  to  their  being  expounded. 

There  is  now  no  established  religion  in  Japan,  Buddh- 
ism having  been  abolished  in  1874.  The  temples  and 
priesthood  are  maintained  by  voluntary  contributions. 
The  poor  laws  are  simple :  government  gives  nine 
bushels  of  rice  to  every  person  over  seventy  or  under 
fifteen  years  of  age,  who  cannot  work,  and  the  same  to 
foundlings  under  thirteen.  Out  of  the  total  population 
of  thirty-six  millions,  there  are  only  ten  thousand  and 
fifty  paupers,  and  of  these  more  than  a  thousand  are  at 
Tokio  in  the  workhouse. 


Harbor  of  Nagasaki,  Monday,  December  2. 
Vandy  and  I  were  off  early  this  morning  for  the  shore, 
and  did  not  return  to  the  ship  until  late  in  the  after- 
noon, having  walked  over  the  high  hills  and  down  into 
the  valleys  beyond.  We  had  a  real  tramp  in  the  coun- 
try. It  is  here  just  as  elsewhere,  terrace  upon  terrace, 
every  foot  of  ground  under  cultivation ;  water  carried 
by  men  in  pails,  or  on  the  backs  of  oxen,  to  the  highest 
peaks,  which  it  is  impossible  to  irrigate,  and  every 
single  plant,  be  it  rice,  millet,  turnip,  cabbage,  or  carrot, 
watered  daily.  What  good  Mother  Earth  can  be  in- 
duced to  yield  under  such  attention  is  a  marvel.     The 


Terrace  Farming.  67 

bountiful  earth  has  another  meaning  when  you  see 
what  she  can  be  made  to  bring  forth.  Ahhough  we  are 
in  December,  the  sun  shines  bright,  and  it  is  quite 
warm.  I  sat  down  several  times  under  the  hedge-rows, 
and  heard  the  constant  hum  of  insect  life  around  me. 
Butterflies  flitted  about,  the  bees  gathered  honey,  and 
all  looked  and  felt  like  a  day  in  June.  The  houses  of 
the  people  which  we  saw  were  poor,  and  the  total  ab- 
sence of  glass  causes  them  to  look  like  deserted  hovels ; 
but  closer  inspection  showed  fine  mats  on  the  floors,  and 
everything  scrupulously  clean.  I  counted  upon  one 
hillside  forty-seven  terraces  from  the  bottom  to  the  top. 
These  are  divided  vertically,  so  that  I  think  twenty-five 
feet  square  would  be  about  the  average  size  of  each 
patch  ;  and  as  the  division  of  terraces  is  made  to  suit  the 
ground,  and  hence  very  irregularly,  the  appearance  of  a 
hillside  in  Japan  is  something  like  that  of  a  bed-quilt  of 
irregular  pieces.  The  terrace-walls  are  overgrown  with 
vines,  ferns,  etc.,  so  that  they  appear  like  low  green 
hedges :  and  this  adds  much  to  the  beauty  of  the  land- 
scape. No  wonder  the  cultivators  of  these  lovely  spots 
never  dream  of  leaving  them.  Animal  food  is  not  half 
as  important  to  the  Japanese  as  the  supply  of  fish — in- 
deed the  former  is  said  to  be  comparatively  little  used, 
while  fish  of  some  kind  or  in  some  form  is  ever  present 
at  meals.  The  favorite  fish  is  the  tai,  which  is  red  when 
taken  from  streams  with  sandy  bottoms,  but  black  when 
caught  at  the  mouths  of  the  same  streams,  where  the 


68  Round  the   World. 

dark  soil  of  the  sea  begins.  A  curious  parallel  case  is 
seen  in  the  black  and  red  pines  of  this  country :  in 
sandy  soils  they  grow  red,  while  in  the  softer  black  soil 
they  are  dark.  Transplant  the  two  varieties  and  they 
change  color.  The  same  law,  you  see,  with  fish  and 
plant.  We  are  all  creatures  of  our  environment.  There- 
fore let  us  choose  our  companions  and  surroundings 
well.  To  know  the  best  that  has  been  said  and  done 
in  the  world  is  no  doubt  much ;  to  be  planted  and  to 
grow  among  those  who  have  done  the  greatest  work 
and  who  live  up  to  the  best  standard  in  our  day  and 
generation  is  surely  equally  important. 

We  had  an  alarm  of  fire  on  the  Belgiq  in  mid-ocean, 
but  this  morning  we  had  the  real  article.  I  had  just 
parted  from  the  captain  at  the  stern  of  the  ship,  intend- 
ing to  go  ashore,  when,  walking  forward,  I  saw  dense 
volumes  of  smoke  issuing  from  the  walking-beam  pit, 
and  in  a  few  moments  I  heard  the  cry  of  fire  from  be- 
low. All  was  in  a  bustle  at  once,  but  the  crew  got  finely 
to  work.  Fortunately,  although  there  was  no  steam  in 
the  main  boilers,  the  small  donkey  boiler  was  full,  and 
the  pumps  were  put  to  work.  Meanwhile  boats  from 
the  various  men-of-war  in  the  harbor  with  hand  fire-en- 
gines came  to  our  assistance.  The  steamer  is  an  old 
wooden  craft,  and  I  knew  her  cargo  was  combustible. 
Were  the  smoke  ever  to  give  place  to  flame,  panic  was 
sure  to  ensue,  and  not  one  of  the  small  native  boats  that 
had  until  now  been  clustering  around  us  could  then  be 


Progress  in  Japan.  69 

induced  to  approach  ;  indeed,  they  had  already  all  rowed 
off.  There  was  one  lady  on  board,  Mrs,  McK.,  a  veri- 
table Princess  of  Thule  from  the  Island  of  Lewes,  and  I 
decided  that  she  had  better  be  taken  off  with  her  sick 
child  at  once ;  so,  bribing  a  greedy  native  by  the  im- 
mense reward  of  a  whole  dollar  (a  large  fee  here,  small 
as  it  seems  at  home)  to  come  alongside,  I  grasped  the 
baby  and  followed  the  mother  down  the  gangway,  and 
remained  at  a  safe  distance  until  the  danger  was  over. 
A  few  minutes  more,  and  the  Costa  Rica  would  have  fol- 
lowed her  sister  ship,  the  America,  which  some  years 
ago  took  fire  under  similar  circumstances  in  the  harbor 
of  Yokohama,  and  was  completely  destroyed.  Fortu- 
nately we  are  about  done  with  wooden  steamships ; 
otherwise  they  should  not  be  permitted  to  run  as  pas- 
senger vessels. 

The  post-ofitice  department  of  Japan  is  of  recent  ori- 
gin, having  been  established  in  1871  ;  yet  in  1881,  after 
only  ten  years'  growth,  it  carried  ninety-five  millions  of 
letters,  newspapers,  books,  etc.  Thirty  millions  of  these 
were  post-cards.  Three  millions  of  telegrams  were  also 
transmitted  in  that  year.  Perhaps  no  statement  will 
give  one  a  clearer  idea  than  this  of  the  rapid  progress  of 
this  strange  country  in  the  ways  of  the  West. 

Japan  has  only  two  short  lines  of  railway  for  thirty- 
six  millions  of  people — a  population  nearly  equal  to 
that  of  Great  Britain :  one  eighteen  miles  from  Yoko- 
hama to  Tokio,  the  other  seventy  miles  from  Hiogo  to 


70  Round  the  World. 

Kioto.  This  seems  a  scanty  allowance;  nevertheless 
it  is  not  probable  that  more  than  a  few  hundred  miles 
of  rail  will  be  built  for  centuries.  The  habits  and  pov- 
erty of  the  people,  and  in  many  districts  the  topog- 
raphy of  the  country,  are  such  as  to  render  railways 
unsuitable.  The  main  highways  are,  however,  kept  in 
admirable  order.  I  was  amused  with  the  classification 
of  these.  Those  of  the  first  class  are  such  as  lead  from 
the  capital  to  the  treaty  ports ;  of  the  second  class 
those  lines  leading  to  the  national  shrines.  Commerce 
has  thus  usurped  the  first  place.  Both  the  first  and  the 
second  class  roads  are  maintained  by  the  General  Gov- 
ernment as  being  national  affairs.  Various  grades  of 
roads  follow,  some  being  maintained  by  large  districts ; 
others,  of  local  importance,  by  taxes  upon  a  smaller 
area;  but  all  under  the  strict  supervision  of  central 
officials  at  Tokio. 

Not  the  least  surprising  feature  in  the  revolution  go- 
ing forward  so  peacefully  in  Japan  is  the  prompt  adop- 
tion of  the  newspaper  as  one  of  the  essentials  of  life. 
A  few  years  ago  the  official  Gazette,  read  only  by  offi- 
cials and  containing  nothing  of  general  interest,  was  the 
only  publication  in  the  Empire ;  to-day  several  hundred 
newspapers  are  published,  many  of  them  daily.  A  cen- 
sorship of  the  press  still  exists,  however,  and  leads  to 
the  usual  mode  of  evasion.  Pungent  political  articles 
are  conveyed  under  cover  of  criticisms  ostensibly  upon 
the  blunders  of  lands  not  so  enlightened  as  Japan.    Here 


The  Press  in  Japan,  71 

is  a  specimen :  "  In  America  during  the  Civil  War  paper 
currency  was  issued  and  made  legal  tender.  At  every 
successive  issue  the  premium  rose  higher  and  higher  till 
the  currency  was  not  worth  more  than  a  third  of  its 
face.  The  Southern  States  followed  in  the  same  path, 
but  they  kept  on  till  their  issues  were  found  to  be  good 
for  about  one  purpose  only — to  line  trunks  withal — such 
fools  these  Americans  be.  Happy  Japan  !  blessed  with 
rulers  of  preeminent  ability,  who  keep  the  finances  of 
our  land  in  such  creditable  form." 

The  fact  was  that  Japanese  currency  was  then  at  22 
per  cent,  discount  and  rapidly  declining  in  value  under 
successive  issues,  just  as  it  had  done  in  America.  Such 
articles  are  no  doubt  far  more  effective  than  open,  un- 
disguised assaults  could  possibly  be,  for  the  cleverness  of 
the  evasion  gives  additional  zest  to  the  attack.  The 
Press  is  a  hard  dog  to  muzzle,  and,  like  dogs  in  general, 
only  vicious  when  muzzled.  The  Japanese  will  soon 
find  it  safer  to  *'  let  Truth  and  Error  grapple"  in  the  full 
face  of  day,  for  they  are  not  slow  to  learn. 


Tuesday,  December  3. 
The  turbulent  China  Sea  has  passed  into  a  proverb. 
The  Channel  passage  in  a  gale,  I  suppose,  comes  nearest 
to  it.  We  started  to  cross  this  sea  at  daylight,  and 
surely  we  have  reason  to  be  grateful.  It  is  as  smooth 
as  a  mirror,  the  winds  are  hushed,  and  as  I  write  the 
shores  of  Japan  fade  peacefully  from  view.     I  cannot 


72  Round  the   World. 

help  thinking  how  improbable  that  I  shall  ever  see  them 
again  ;  but,  however  that  may  be,  farewell  for  the  pres- 
ent to  Japan.  Take  a  stranger's  best  wishes  for  your 
future. 

Our  cargo  shows  something  of  the  resources  of  the 
country.  It  amounts  to  eight  hundred  tons,  comprising 
seaweed — a  special  kind  of  which  the  Chinese  are  fond 
— ginseng,  camphor,  timber,  isinglass,  Japan  piece- 
goods,  ingot  copper,  etc.  Every  week  this  line  takes 
to  China  a  similar  cargo,  and  the  trade  is  rapidly  ex- 
tending. This  steamship  company  is  worth  noting  as 
an  evidence  of  what  Japanese  enterprise  is  doing.  The 
principal  owner,  the  Commodore  Garrison  of  Japan, 
had  a  small  beginning,  but  now  runs  some  thirty-seven 
steamers  between  the  various  Japanese  ports.  Under 
the  management  of  Mr.  Krebs,  a  remarkable  Dane,  this 
company  beat  off  the  Pacific  Mail  Company  from  the 
China  trade,  and  actually  purchased  their  ships. 
There  are  many  things  found  on  these  vessels  which 
our  Atlantic  companies  might  imitate  with  advantage. 

I  believe  I  mentioned  that  Japan,  not  to  be  behind 
her  Western  neighbors,  had  created  a  public  debt,  which 
now  amounts  to  about  $300,000,000,  but  $250,000,000  of 
this  was  used  in  payment'  of  the  two  hundred  and 
sixty-six  daimios  and  their  numerous  retainers,  when 
government  took  over  the  land  to  itself.  Each  of  these 
potentates  had  vested  rights  in  a  certain  proportion  of 
the  yield  of  the  soil  of  his  district,  and  this  was  com- 


Land  Taxation.  Jt, 

muted  by  the  government  into  so  much  in  its  bonds,  a 
fixed  land  tax  being  substituted  for  the  irregular  exac- 
tions of  former  landlords.  On  every  side  I  hear  that 
this  has  greatly  improved  the  condition  of  the  popula- 
tion— made  the  people  more  contented,  and  at  the  same 
time  vastly  augmented  the  products  of  the  soil.  Not 
less  than  three  millions  of  the  population  shared  in  this 
operation. 

The  nationalization  of  the  land  is  under  discussion 
in  England,  and  it  is  conceded  that  some  change  has  to 
be  made.  Here  is  Japan  proving  the  results  of  nation- 
alization, while  Denmark  shows  what  private  ownership 
of  small  pieces  of  land  can  do  under  a  system  of  cumu- 
lative taxation  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  estate 
held.  One  of  these  two  systems  is  likely  to  prevail  in 
England  some  day.  Meanwhile,  here  is  food  for 
thought  for  the  British  tax-payer :  out  of  seventy-five 
million  yens  (;^i5,ooo,cxdo)  of  revenue  raised  by  Japan, 
forty-three  million  comes  from  the  land  tax.  The  tax 
on  alcoholic  liquors  yields  about  seventeen  millions 
more. 

Since  my  visit  to  Japan  an  imperial  decree  has  been 
published,  promising  that  a  national  assembly  shall  meet 
in  1890;  so  we  have  the  foundations  of  representative 
government  almost  at  hand.  Surely  no  other  nation 
ever  abandoned  its  traditions  and  embraced  so  rapidly 
those  of  a  civilization  of  an  opposite  character.  This  is 
not  development  under  the  law  of  slow  evolution  ;  it 


74  Round  the   World. 

seems  more  like  a  case  of  spontaneous  generation. 
Presto,  change !  and  here  before  our  very  eyes  is  pre- 
sented the  strange  spectacle  of  the  most  curious,  back- 
ward, feudalistic  Eastern  nation  turning  into  a  Western 
one  of  the  most  advanced  type. 

That  Japan  will  succeed  in  her  effort  to  establish  a 
central  government,  under  something  like  our  ideas  of 
freedom  and  law,  and  that  she  has  such  resources  as  will 
enable  her  to  maintain  it  and  educate  her  people,  I  am 
glad  to  be  able  to  say  I  believe ;  but  much  remains  to 
be  done  requiring  in  the  race  the  exercise  of  solid  quali- 
ties, the  possession  of  which  I  find  some  Europeans  dis- 
posed to  deny  them.  They  have  travelled,  perhaps, 
quite  fast  enough,  and  I  look  for  a  temporary  triumph 
of  the  more  conservative  party.  But  the  seed  is  sown, 
and  Japan  will  move,  upon  the  whole,  in  the  direction 
of  progress.  And  so,  once  more,  farewell,  Japan;  and 
China,  now  almost  within  sight,  all  hail ! 


CHINA. 

In  one  respect  at  least  pilgrims  from  other  lands  must 
bow  to  the  empire  we  are  about  to  visit.  It  is  the  old- 
est form  of  civilized  government  on  earth.  While  the 
English  monarchy  boasts  its  uninterrupted  course  of 
eight  hundred  years,  and  America  has  just  celebrated  its 
first  century  of  existence,  this  remarkable  people  live 
under  a  government  which  has  been  substantially  un- 


China,  75 

changed  for  four  thousand  long  years.  The  first  au- 
thenticated dynasty  dates  from  2345  B.  C,  and  what  is 
now  China  has  been  under  one  central  government  for 
nearly  two  thousand  five  hundred  years.  Even  the 
Papacy,  the  most  venerable  of  existing  Western  in- 
stitutions, is  young  compared  to  this.  There  was 
something  in  the  reply  of  the  mandarin  to  the  boast  of 
one  of  our  people  as  to  the  superiority  of  our  system  : 
"  Wait  until  it  is  tried  !  "  To  a  Chinaman  a  thousand 
years  or  so  seems  too  short  to  prove  anything.  Theirs 
alone  has  stood  the  test  of  ages.  That  the  Chinese  are 
a  great  race  goes  without  saying.  Four  hundred  mill- 
ions (nearly  one-third  of  the  human  race)  existing  for 
thousands  of  years  under  one  unchanging  government, 
ridinsf  out  the  storms  which  have  overwhelmed  all  other 
nations  ;  nay,  even  absorbing  into  themselves  the  Tartar 
hordes,  who  came  as  conquerors,  and  making  them 
Chinese  against  their  will.  Such  a  record  tells  a  story 
indeed  !  At  a  date  so  remote  that  Egypt  and  Assyria 
were  the  great  Western  powers,  when  Athens  and  Troy 
had  just  been  founded,  and  Rome  was  not  even  thought 
of,  these  people  were  governed  much  as  they  are  now, 
and  since  A.D.  ^J  have  published  a  daily  Peking  Gazette, 
of  which  (thanks  to  our  intelligent  "  host  of  the  Garter," 
Mr.  Janssen)  we  have  secured  a  copy.  We  are  all  but 
of  yesterday  compared  to  the  Heathen  Chinee,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  sit  down  and  scribble  glibly  of  such  a  peo- 
ple.    In  Japan  there  is  no  record.     It  is  a  new  race  ap- 


76  Round  the   World. 

pearing  almost  for  the  first  time  among  civilized  na- 
tions. It  has  given  the  world  nothing,  but  how  widely 
different  here !  It  is  to  China  the  world  owes  the  com- 
pass, gunpowder,  porcelain,  and  even  the  art  of  print- 
ing, and  to  her  also  alone  the  spectacle  of  a  people  ruled 
by  a  code  of  laws  and  morals  embracing  the  most  mi- 
nute particulars,  written  two  thousand  four  hundred 
years  ago,  and  taught  to  this  day  in  the  schools  as  the 
rules  of  life.  It  is  an  old  and  true  saying  that  almost 
any  system  of  religion  would  make  one  good  enough 
if  it  were  properly  obeyed ;  certainly  that  of  Confucius 
would  do  so.  I  have  been  deeply  impressed  with  his 
greatness  and  purity.  Dr.  Davis  writes  in  his  work  on 
China:  "Confucius  embodied  in  sententious  maxims 
the  first  principles  of  morals  and  of  government,  and 
the  purity  and  excellence  of  some  of  his  precepts  will 
bear  comparison  with  even  those  of  the  Gospel."  In 
Thornton's  History  of  China  I  find  this  noteworthy 
passage :  "  It  may  excite  surprise,  and  even  incredulity, 
to  state  that  the  golden  rule  of  our  Saviour  had  been 
inculcated  by  Confucius  five  centuries  before  almost  in 
the  same  words."  If  any  of  my  readers  wish  a  rare 
treat,  I  advise  him  to  add  at  least  the  first  volume  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Legge's  Life  of  Confucius  to  his  library  im- 
mediately, and  let  him  not  entertain  the  idea  that  the 
sage  was  a  heathen  or  an  unbeliever ;  far,  very  far  from 
that,  for  one  of  his  most  memorable  passages  explains 
that  all  worship  belongs  to  Shangti  (the  Supreme  Ruler) ; 


Shanghai.  'jy 

no  matter  what  forms  or  symbols  are  used,  the  great 
God  alone  being  the  only  true  object  of  worship.  But 
I  must  resist  this  fit  of  Confucianism,  reserving,  how- 
ever, the  privilege  of  regaling  you  with  more  of  it  by 
and  bye,  for  really  it  is  too  good  not  to  be  scattered 
among  you.  Meanwhile,  remember  well  what  Matthew 
Arnold  says: 

"  Children  of  men  !  the  unseen  Power,  whose  eye 
For  ever  doth  accompany  mankind, 
Hath  look'd  on  no  religion  scornfully 
That  men  did  ever  find. 

Which  has  not  taught  weak  wills  how  much  they  can  ? 

Which  has  not  fall'n  on  the  dry  heart  like  rain  ? 
Which  has  not  cried  to  sunk,  self-weary  man  : 

Thou  7nust  be  born  again  !" 


Thursday,  December  5. 
We  reached  Shanghai  Thursday  morning,  and  found 
excellent  accommodations  at  the  Astor  House,  in  the 
American  settlement.  The  Chinese  Government  has  set 
apart  for  the  accommodation  of  foreigners  a  strip  of 
land,  about  six  miles  long  and  one  mile  wide,  fronting 
the  river.  This  is  divided  among  the  English,  French, 
and  Americans.  During  the  Taeping  rebellion  a  few 
years  ago,  thousands  of  natives  flocked  into  this  terri- 
tory and  found  a  refuge  under  the  foreign  flags,  and  to- 
day it  contains  more  than  seventy  thousand  Chinese, 
who  do  most  of  the  retail  business  of  the   city.     The 


•jS  Round  the   World. 

foreign  population  does  not  exceed  two  thousand.  The 
streets  are  broad,  and  as  well  cared  for  as  in  an  English 
town,  and  it  is  lighted  with  gas,  has  a  fine  steam  fire  or- 
ganization, and  is  thoroughly  drained.  It  is  here  the 
natives  of  this  district  are  learning  their  first  lesson  of 
Western  civilization,  and  at  length  some  impression 
has  been  made  upon  this  hitherto  immovable  mass 
and  it  begins  to  move.  Mandarins  come  from  the 
country  to  enjoy  a  drive  in  the  streets,  for,  let  it  not 
be  forgotten,  there  is  not  a  street  or  road  in  the  region, 
outside  of  the  reservation,  in  which  a  horse  can  travel ; 
only  footpaths,  where  a  wheelbarrow  pushed  by  a  man 
is  the  only  possible  vehicle.  Now  several  wealthy 
Chinese  have  set  up  their  carriages,  and  may  frequently 
be  seen  driving ;  and  I  learn  from  many  that  when 
any  are  compelled  to  visit  their  former  residences  else- 
where, they  return  to  Shanghai  declaring  that  they 
could  not  live  any  longer  in  the  old  style.  But  think  of 
one-third  of  the  race  living  at  this  late  day  without  a 
mile  of  railroad  or  of  telegraph,  or  even  of  macadamized 
roads  !  Communication  in  China  is  solely  by  means  of 
the  rivers,  canals,  and  small  branches  which  have  been 
led  from  the  main  channels  to  every  acre  of  ground 
for  irrigating  purposes,  and  by  narrow  footpaths  be- 
tween the  fields.  But  some  of  us  will  live  to  see  this 
changed.  I  saw  in  a  newspaper  an  official  notice  per- 
mitting the  first  telegraph  line  to  be  built.  True,  it  is 
to  be  only  a  few  miles  in  length,  extending  from  the 


Graves  vs.  Railroads.  79 

sea  to  the  port  of  Peking  (Tien-Tsin),  but  this  is  of 
course  only  a  beginning.  The  question  of  railroads 
is  more  serious,  and  what  think  you  is  the  one  obsta- 
cle to  their  introduction?  Graves — the  "tombs  of 
our  ancestors."  China  is  one  vast  cemetery.  Go  where 
you  will,  in  any  direction,  the  mounds  of  the  dead  in- 
trude themselves  upon  you  at  every  step.  There  are 
no  cemeteries  or  places  set  apart  for  burial  purposes ; 
on  the  contrary,  the  Chinaman  seems  to  prefer  having 
his  dead  buried  on  his  own  land,  and  as  near  to  him  as 
practicable.  In  this  neighborhood  their  mode  of  sepul- 
ture is  revolting.  The  coffins  are  not  put  into  a  grave 
at  all,  but  are  laid  directly  on  the  surface  of  the  ground 
and  covered  with  but  a  few  inches  of  earth ;  and  it  is 
not  at  all  uncommon  for  them  to  be  wholly  exposed, 
simply  laid  out  in  the  fields,  and  so  close  to  the  roadside 
— I  mean  to  the  main  roads  built  by  Europeans  near 
their  settlements — that  you  can  almost  touch  them 
with  the  end  of  your  walking-stick  as  you  pass.  The 
stench  from  such  coffins  became  so  offensive  last  year 
at  the  rifle  range  that  the  European  authorities  had  to 
enter  complaint  to  the  Chinese  Mandarin.  I  was,  like 
all  others,  at  first  much  shocked  at  the  sight  of  these 
evidences  of  mortality.  One  day  I  stood  and  counted 
a  hundred  and  thirty-four  different  mounds  and  exposed 
coffins  within  sight.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  in  other 
parts  of  China  this  custom  does  not  prevail,  the  dead 
being  buried  in  graves,  and  walls  built  above  them  in 


8o  Round  the   World. 

the  shape  of  a  horseshoe.  As  is  well  known,  the  Chinese 
worship  their  ancestors,  and  believe  that  much  of  their 
happiness  depends  upon  the  respect  shown  to  those  to 
whom  they  owe  their  lives.  Cases  have  been  known 
where  successive  afflictions  have  been  attributed  to 
some  defect  in  the  resting-places  of  the  dead ;  their 
ancestors,  "  after  life's  fitful  fever,"  were  not  sleeping 
well,  and  at  great  expense  the  bones  have  been  removed 
to  another  place ;  but  it  is  an  extreme  case  when  they 
venture  to  disturb  the  dead.  Every  true  son  of  the 
Empire  of  the  Sun  echoes  the  anathema  of  Shakespeare, 

"And  curst  be  he  who  moves  my  bones." 

One  special  feature  of  the  Flowery  Land  is,  I  think, 
the  repugnance  of  the  people  to  debt,  or  to  credits 
in  any  form.  As  I  have  remarked,  they  have  no 
banks  of  issue  ;  no  promises  to  pay  for  the  Celestials ; 
they  deal  only  in  the  coin  itself.  All  debts  must  be 
paid  at  the  beginning  of  each  year.  The  Chinaman 
who  does  not  settle  every  account  and  enter  upon  the 
new  year  without  an  obligation  is  accounted  either  very 
unfortunate  or  very  regardless  of  the  duties  of  life. 
This  aversion  to  debt,  perhaps,  accounts  for  the  fact 
that  these  four  hundred  millions  of  people  had  not  a 
penny  of  national  debt  until  four  years  ago.  But 
they  have  just  made  a  loan  of  $12,000,000,  I  believe, 
the  first  ever  made  by  China  in  all  its  thousands 
of    years'    history.      This  may   be   taken,   perhaps,    as 


Chmas  Public  Debt.  8i 

another  proof  that  the  empire  is  influenced  by  West- 
ern ideas,  but  one  cannot  help  regretting  that  her 
long  reign  of  freedom  from  debt  should  at  last  be 
stained,  even  for  so  paltry  an  amount.  If  I  were  a 
Chinese  statesman,  I  would  never  rest  until  the  last 
farthing  of  this  debt  was  paid  off.  The  fashion  nowa- 
days in  America  is  to  urge  that  it  is  paying  off  its  debt 
much  too  fast.  I  am  sorry  for  this.  What  an  example 
to  all  lands  we  shall  give  when  the  last  bond  of  the 
nation  is  cancelled  at  Washington  amid  public  rejoic- 
ings !  A  republic's  part  is  to  give  less  advanced  nations, 
still  under  the  influence  of  feudal  institutions,  such  les- 
sons as  this  will  be.  Do  not  let  us,  however,  underrate 
England's  part  in  such  a  work.  She  has  reduced  her 
public  debt  wonderfully,  and  the  next  twenty  years  is 
to  see  seventy  millions  sterling  more  extinguished,  un- 
less legislation  now  existing  for  this  end  is  interfered 
with. 

The  general  government  of  China  is  a  very  econom- 
ical one,  its  total  revenue  being  only  about  $125,000,000 
(ii"2 5, 000,000).  Of  this  $15,000,000  is  spent  upon  the 
army,  a  sum  which  for  400,000,000  people  compares, 
very  favorably  with  that  expended  by  other  nations. 
China  has  outgrown  the  so-called  heroic  age,  in  which 
England  still  dwells,  and  has  little  need  of  armies. 
A  government  not  worth  thirty  cents  (fifteen  pence) 
per  year  for  each  inhabitant,  which  is  the  cost  in  China, 
is  not  worth  having. 


82  Round  the   WoiHd. 

Friday,  December  6. 
In  our  stroll  to-day  Vandy  and  I  came  upon  one  of 
the  gates  of  the  old  city,  of  which  there  are  six  in  a 
wall  three  miles  in  circumference,  and  entered.  It  con- 
tains 300,000  people.  We  walked  some  distance  through 
its  filthy,  narrow  alleys,  and  saw  the  poor  wretches  in 
their  dens  working  at  all  kinds  of  trades,  from  the  forg- 
ing of  iron  to  the  production  of  Joss-money,  but  the 
villainous  smells  soon  overpowered  me,  and  I  had  to  get 
Vandy  to  escort  me  out.  He  can  go  through  anything 
of  this  kind  without  flinching,  and  means  to  return  ;  but 
I  have  seen  enough  of  it,  and  am  sorry  that  human 
beings  have  to  exist  under  such  conditions.  The  Chinese 
have  no  coined  currency  except  a  small  bronze  piece 
worth  one-tenth  of  a  cent,  called  "cash."  It  has  a  hole 
in  the  centre,  and  when  a  native  goes  to  market  he  puts 
several  lots  of  them  on  strings,  fifty  or  a  hundred  on 
each  string,  and  throws  them  round  his  neck  ;  think  of  it, 
one  thousand  pieces,  ten  strings  of  one  hundred  each,  to 
make  a  dollar !  Sometimes  they  are  carried  in  the 
market-basket.  In  larger  operations  Mexican  and 
American  dollars  are  used,  but  away  from  the  coast 
people  decline  to  take  even  these,  insisting  upon  silver 
cast  in  the  form  of  a  horseshoe  and  called  "  sice." 
This  silver  is  hoarded  here,  and  also  in  India,  and  were 
it  not  for  this  its  value  would  probably  fall  to  a  point 
which  would  rule  it  out  of  the  list  of  precious  metals. 
The  evils  of  a  silver  currency  are  obvious  to  all  here. 


Joss-Mo7tey.  83 

Its  value  has  changed  three  times  in  one  day  since  we 
have  been  in  the  country.  Business  is  seriously  dis- 
turbed, and  suffers  from  this  cause,  and  it  is  to  such  a 
plight  that  our  misled  silverites  at  home  would  reduce 
us! 


Saturday,  December  7. 

To-day  we  walked  through  the  fish  and  vegetable 
markets.  It  was  funny  to  see  the  people  making  their 
purchases.  Each  one  carries  a  small  stick  with  a  weight 
attached  to  it.  This  serves  as  a  weighing-beam,  and 
every  fowl,  fish,  and  vegetable  is  carefully  weighed  by 
the  customer.  No  cheating  of  a  brother  Celestial  by  the 
seller.  We  pass  now  and  then  a  shop  where  nothing 
is  dealt  in  but  Joss-money ;  hundreds  in  every  place  are 
engaged  in  its  manufacture.  It  is  made  out  of  thin  gold 
and  silver  paper,  in  the  horseshoe  ingot  form  of  genuine 
"  sice."  I  bought  a  box  containing  eight  pieces  for 
thirty  cents.  Some  of  it  also  is  made  in  imitation  of 
silver  dollars.  This  bogus  money  is  laid  upon  the  altars 
of  the  temples  as  offerings  to  the  gods,  who  are  sup- 
posed to  find  as  much  use  for  it  as  if  it  were  genuine ; 
and  no  doubt  this  is  the  case.  It  would  therefore  be  a 
great  pity,  says  the  Heathen  Chinee,  to  waste  the  real 
article,  although  I  doubt  not  the  priests  would  infinitely 
prefer  it. 

We  attended  a  "  paper-hunt  "  in  the  afternoon.  Be- 
tween forty  and  fifty  riders,  all  Europeans,  on  small 
horses,  started  across  country,  the  route  having  been 


84  Roinid  the   World. 

previously  laid  down  by  means  of  small  pieces  of  white 
paper  scattered  at  every  point  where  one  of  the  innu- 
merable little  creeks  was  to  be  crossed.  The  finish  was 
a  rare  sight.  The  banks  of  the  creeks  were  very  muddy, 
falls  were  numerous,  and  several  of  the  riders  came  in 
besmirched  from  head  to  foot.  Europeans  take  to 
horses  here,  and  a  race-course  is  maintained.  The  ani- 
mals are  a  small  breed  from  the  north,  which  are  now 
known  as  Shanghai  ponies.  I  do  not  think  I  could  en- 
joy the  sport  of  paper-hunting  here.  The  exposed  cof- 
fins and  graves  one  has  to  gallop  over  from  end  to  end 
of  the  hunt  are  not  calculated  to  enhance  one's  pleas- 
ure ;  but  perhaps  one  would  in  time  get  used  even  to 
them,  though  I  doubt  it. 

It  was  sad  to  see  the  roadway  which  had  been  pre- 
pared for  the  railroad  from  Woosung,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  to  this  city,  a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles. 
The  rails  had  actually  been  laid  in  some  places  when  a 
decree  from  Peking  ordered  their  removal.  No  better 
location  in  the  empire  could  have  been  found  to  prove 
the  advantages  of  railway  travel,  and  I  believe,  if  it  had 
been  finished,  the  Chinese  would  have  quickly  appre- 
ciated the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  it.  Britain  will 
some  day  find  in  China  its  best  field  for  railway  enter- 
prise. By  the  time  we  next  visit  Shanghai  we  expect 
to  see  not  only  the  rails  restored  to  this  line,  but  also 
many  other  miles  in  successful  operation. 


Prices  in  China,  85 

Monday,  December  g. 

We  visited  the  ship-yard  of  Messrs.  Boyd  &  Co., 
and  found  none  but  native  workmen  employed.  Black- 
smiths receive  about  five  dollars  per  week,  machinists 
six  dollars ;  carpenters,  sixty  to  sixty-five  cents  per  day. 
But  this  concern  pays  high  wages,  and  requires  its 
men  to  equal  Europeans,  which  I  am  told  they  do. 
Common  gang  labor  is  contracted  for  with  a  head  man, 
who  engages  to  supply  day  by  day  the  number  of 
coclies  wanted  at  twenty  cents  a  day  per  man.  Mr. 
Grant,  the  senior  partner,  told  me  he  was  buying  Bel- 
gian iron  in  large  lots,  assorted  sizes,  for  £\  los.  per 
gross  ton — just  about  one  cent  per  pound;  ship  plates 
at  £6,  equal  to  $29  per  gross  ton,  free  on  ship  at  Ant- 
werp. Such  figures  prove  the  severity  of  the  struggle 
for  existence  among  the  iron  manufacturers  of  Europe. 

The  servants  at  the  hotel  pay  a  contractor  two  dol- 
lars per  month  for  food,  they  not  being  permitted  to 
eat  anything  at  the  hotel.  A  coolie's  board  costs  about 
five  cents  per  day.  For  this  he  gets  an  abundance  of 
coarse  rice  and  cabbage  spiced  with  pieces  of  dried  fish 
and  pickles,  and  upon  such  a  diet  lives  from  year  to 
year.  Clothing  is  estimated  at  two  to  three  dollars 
per  year.  This  is  the  country  of  low  prices,  where  one 
eschews  luxuries  and  comes  down  to  first  principles. 
Cab  fare  is  five  cents  per  mile  for  ginrikshaws,  which 
have  been  introduced  from  Japan,  and  are  generally 
used  in  Shanghai.     At  Tokio  I  remember  cab  fare  was 


86  Round  the   World, 

even  cheaper.  We  paid  only  eight  cents  per  hour  for  a 
man  and  his  carriage,  or  seventy-five  cents  for  the  en- 
tire day.  European  society  here  is  quite  extensive,  and 
very  pleasant  and  hospitable.  We  are  indebted  to  kind 
friends  for  numerous  attentions.  As  General  Bailey, 
our  worthy  Consul-General,  is  a  pubhc  official,  I  may  be 
permitted  to  express  to  him  my  special  thanks.  He 
was  unremitting  in  his  efforts  to  render  our  visit  agree- 
able. It  is  from  such  men  that  America  is  to  draw  its 
trained  diplomatists  when  Civil-Service  Reform  has 
done  its  needed  work. 

We  attended  last  night  a  very  good  amateur  theatri- 
cal performance.  Shanghai  society  was  present  in 
force,  and  in  full  evening  dress.  The  preponderance  of 
fine-looking  young  men,  and  the  almost  total  absence 
of  young  ladies,  was  most  marked.  The  number  of 
married  ladies  was  not  great.  In  answer  to  my  inquiry 
where  the  young  ladies  were,  I  was  informed  that  there 
were  but  few  in  town.  One  was  pointed  out,  but  as  she 
was  engaged  she  scarcely  counted.  If  ladies  will  only 
be  contented  with  unremitting  attentions  from  a  crowd 
of  handsome  beaux,  this  is  their  paradise ;  but,  as  our 
lady  friend  explained,  none  of  these  fine  fellows  can 
afford  to  marry :  they  are  clerks  and  assistants  in  the 
European  houses,  the  partners  of  which  unfortunately 
are  married  already.  I  think  it  but  fair  to  mention 
this  for  the  benefit  of  any  of  my  fair  young  friends  who 
might  otherwise  think  of  visiting  the   East.     The  ab- 


6V.  Andrews  Day.  87 

sence  of  young  ladies  renders  the  taking  of  female 
parts  by  the  opposite  sex  a  necessity.  A  splendid 
"  singing  chambermaid  "  of  this  kind,  dressed  and  look- 
ing the  part  to  perfection,  but  with  a  deep  bass  voice, 
caused  peals  of  laughter  every  time  he  spoke.  During 
the  evening  there  was  a  song  cleverly  introduced  and 
sung  by  a  brawny  Scot — a  parody  upon  "  May  I  like  a 
soldier  fall,"  beginning, 

"  Oh!  may  I  like  a  Scotchman  fall 
Upon  St.  Andrew's  Day." 

It  appears  the  Scotch  residents  had  just  been  celebrat- 
ing that  memorable  night,  having  brought  up  from 
Hong  Kong  no  less  a  personage  than  the  head  piper  of 
the  Highlander  Regiment  to  grace  the  festival.  But 
the  pipes  proved  too  much  for  the  more  enthusiastic 
of  the  party,  and  capturing  the  piper  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  they  compelled  him  to  march 
at  their  head  playing  through  the  town.  It  may  be 
readily  surmised  that 

"  If  no  fou,  they  just  had  plenty." 

As  long,  however,  as  the  martial  strains  continued,  they 
managed,  arm  and  arm,  to  keep  upright  and  together, 
but,  unfortunately,  from  some  cause  or  other  not  clearly 
explained,  at  the  turn  of  the  street  Donald  himself  lost 
his  footing,  the  bagpipes  ceased,  and  then,  surging  one 
against  the  other,  without  the  music  to  keep  them  in 
step,  the   mass  was  laid  low,  yelling  to  the  last,  how- 


88  Round  the   World. 

ever,  the  "  March  of  the  Cameron  Men."  "  Oh,  what 
a  fall  was  there,  my  countrymen  !  "  The  Central  Hotel 
was  fortunately  not  far  off,  and  by  the  aid  of  wheelbar- 
rows they  were  safely  conveyed  thither  and  taken  care 
of  until  morning.  Ah,  well,  let  the  censorious  take 
note.  This  is  not  the  first  time,  as  the  world  knows, 
when  the  sound  of  the  pibroch  has  kept  Scotchmen 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  "  one  stepping  where  the  other 
fell,"  when  upon  them  lay  the  issue  of  the  fight ;  nor 
shall  it  be  the  last.  Burke  pardoned  something  to 
the  spirit  of  liberty,  and  shall  we  do  less  to  the  au- 
gust shade  of  St.  Andrew  ?     Heaven  forbid  ! 

While  bemoaning  the  absence  of  foreign  young 
ladies  here  and  in  Japan,  I  may  as  well  tell  those  at 
home  something  of  the  marriage  customs  of  the  East, 
for  Japan,  China,  and  India  all  have  much  in  common 
here.  First  and  foremost,  then,  please  understand  that 
the  couple  about  to  be  married  have  nothing  whatever 
to  do  with  the  affair.  The  match  has  been  made  by 
the  parents,  and  as  a  rule  neither  has  seen  the  other 
until  after  the  contract  has  been  closed  ;  and  in  many 
cases  it  is  thought  advisable  that  they  should  meet 
for  the  first  time  when  the  ceremony  begins.  It  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  most  important  duties  of  a  mother 
to  select  a  wife  for  each  of  her  sons  as  he  arrives  at 
maturity,  as  a  failure  to  do  this  might  involve  the  fear- 
ful catastrophe  of  a  break  in  the  worship  of  the  family's 
ancestors,  and  indeed  of   her  own   and  her  husband's 


Marriage  Customs.  89 

ashes,  for  there  might  be  no  men  to  perform  the  sacred 
rites  over  them.  The  parents  of  the  young  men  take 
the  initiative,  but  how  to  propose  is  said  to  be  even 
more  embarrassing  than  it  would  be  to  the  son  himself, 
as  a  refusal  implies  that  the  lady's  parents  consider  the 
proposal  much  beneath  them.  There  exists,  therefore, 
a  class  of  "  marriage  brokers,"  who  keep  themselves  in- 
formed of  the  eligible  sons  and  daughters  in  their  circle, 
and  can  sound  the  parents,  name  the  dot  to  be  given 
or  required,  and  suggest  and  finally  bring  about  a  satis- 
factory alliance  without  wounding  the  family  pride  upon 
either  side.  The  Chinese  are  very  superstitious,  and  no 
union  takes  place  without  the  astrologer's  sanction.  He 
must  consult  the  stars  and  see  that  there  is  proper  con- 
junction.    If  all  is  favorable,  the  marriage  takes  place. 

But  now,  my  lady  friends,  don't  imagine  that  the 
happy  pair  set  up  a  separate  establishment,  as  you  ex- 
pect to  do  when  you  marry.  No ;  the  wife  goes  in 
every  case  to  reside  with  her  mother-in-law,  to  whom,  as 
also  to  her  husband's  father,  she  renders  implicit  obedi- 
ence. This  obedience  to  parents  is  the  most  conspicu- 
ous duty  in  their  religion.  Should  the  daughter-in-law 
be  disrespectful,  even,  to  her  husband's  parents,  these 
would  be  upheld  in  putting  her  away,  even  against  the 
wish  of  her  husband  ;  and  unless  the  son  happened  to 
have  an  independent  income  or  means  of  support,  which 
is  very  rarely  the  case,  his  parents  would  select  for  him 
another  wife  who  knew  her  duty  better.     The  defer- 


90  Round  the   World. 

ence  exacted  and  bestowed  not  only  by  children  but  by 
grown  men  and  women  to  their  parents,  is  wholly  incon- 
ceivable by  Americans ;  but,  remember,  their  religion 
teaches  them  that  those  from  whom  they  derive  exist- 
ence are  entitled  to  their  worship.  No  priest  is 
required  at  a  marriage.  The  ceremony  always  takes 
place  at  the  man's  house,  the  bride  coming  from  her 
parents  in  grand  procession  through  the  streets  in  a 
sedan  chair  with  its  blinds  closely  drawn,  the  presents 
being  ostentatiously  displayed  by  men  carrying  them  in 
front.  We  saw  several  of  these  processions.  I  cannot 
give  a  tithe  of  all  the  customs  observed ;  they  would 
fill  pages.  But  one  is  significant ;  the  bride  is  required 
to  kneel  before  the  husband's  family  tablet,  and  to  wor- 
ship his  ancestors,  her  own  being  from  that  moment  ap- 
parently of  no  account  to  her,  and  her  father  gives  her, 
as  his  parting  injunction,  the  command  to  yield  hereaf- 
ter to  her  new  parents  the  obedience  and  reverence 
hitherto  his  due. 

When  the  entire  day  has  been  spent  in  the  ceremo- 
nies required,  dinner  for  the  couple  is  announced,  and 
they  are  left  alone  with  each  other  for  the  first  time  in 
their  lives ;  but  she  may  not  partake  one  morsel  of  the 
feast,  and,  harder  still,  perhaps,  not  one  syllable  must 
she  speak.  Etiquette  demands  that  she  "  sit  in  silence, 
grave  and  dignified,"  and  she  cannot  break  fast  upon 
her  wedding  day.  The  woman's  chief  study  is  a  book 
giving  minute  instructions  for  her  guidance  through  life. 


Subjection  of  Woman.  91 

In  this  are  prescribed  the  three  great  duties  of  woman : 
I,  obedience  when  a  child  to  her  parents;  2,  obedience 
when  a  wife  to  her  husband  ;  3,  obedience  when  a  widow 
to  her  eldest  son.  The  government  of  man  is  thus  se- 
cured for  the  weaker  vessel  from  the  cradle  to  the 
grave.  No  Eastern  man  could  be  made  to  believe  that 
the  influence  of  the  masculine  intellect  is  not  absolutely 
essential  for  the  well-being  of  the  female ;  and  so  it  un- 
doubtedly will  be  in  the  East  as  long  as  woman  is  un- 
educated. It  is  in  America  we  find  woman  in  her 
highest  development,  higher  even  than  the  English 
standard,  simply  because  in  the  best  circles  she  re- 
ceives an  education  nearer  to  that  of  man  than  is  given 
her  elsewhere. 

By  many  such  curious  customs  is  secured  the  entire 
absorption  of  the  woman,  her  total  eclipse  as  a  sepa- 
rate individuality ;  there  is  nothing  left  of  her  as  far  as 
law  and  usage  can  destroy  her  rights.  This  is  the 
Eastern  idea.  But  she  has  her  triumph  later.  As 
a  wife  she  knows  there  is  little  for  her.  Divorce 
is  almost  sure  unless  she  bear  a  son;  but  when,  in 
the  language  of  Scripture,  ''  a  man-child  is  born " — 
presto  change  !  she  is  a  mother,  supreme,  invested  with 
a  halo  of  sanctity  which  secures  rank  and  reverence 
from  all.  She  becomes  by  this  the  equal  of  her  lord, 
and  must  be  worshipped  like  him,  and  jointly  with  him, 
by  succeeding  generations,  for  Confucius  enjoins  upon 
every  son  the  erection  of  the  family  tablets,  to  father 


92  Round  the   World. 

and  mother  alike.  Nor  is  her  rule  confined  to  her  own 
children,  but,  as  before  stated,  to  their  children  as  well 
to  the  latest  day  of  her  life,  and  the  older  she  becomes 
the  more  she  is  reverenced  as  being  nearer  to  heaven, 
dearer  to  the  gods ;  and  it  is  considered  of  much  moment 
to  any  family  to  be  able  to  boast  a  great-great-grand- 
mother living. 

Do  not  mourn  too  much  over  the  sad  fate  of  a 
young  Chinaman  compelled  to  marry  one  whom  he  has 
never  seen,  for  indeed  there  seems  little  difference  be- 
tween the  young  ladies  of  China.  Thousands  of  years 
of  seclusion,  of  unvarying  customs,  have  at  last  moulded 
women  into  the  same  form,  mentally  and  physically, 
and  anything  like  individuality  can  exist  only  to  a 
small  degree,  and  in  exceptional  natures.  They  are  as 
like  as  peas,  and  one  may  as  well  marry  one  as  another. 
If  the  husband  has  not  the  joys  of  love,  neither  has  he 
the  anxieties  pertaining  to  that  super-sensitive  condi- 
tion ;  for  she  is  not  to  be  his  constant  companion,  nor 
his  companion  at  all  if  he  has  not  drawn  a  prize. 

The  position  of  woman  would  seem,  therefore,  to 
be  almost  entirely  different  from  what  it  is  with  us :  in 
youth  she  is  nothing  there,  in  old  age  everything;  with 
us  it  is  the  opposite.  The  "just  mean  "  between  the 
two  would  probably  yield  better  results  than  either.  In 
China  a  man  may  marry  more  than  one  woman,  but  the 
first  only  is  recognized  as  his  legal  wife ;  all  others  are 
her  servants,  and  bound  to  wait  upon  and  obey  her ; 


A  Mandarin  Dinner.  93 

and  should  there  be  children,  these  are  considered  as 
children  of  the  legal  wife  only,  and  it  is  her  they  must 
worship,  and  not  their  real  mother.  Among  the  masses 
wives  are  invariably  bought  from  the  parents,  about 
ninety  dollars  being  a  fair  market  price  among  poor 
people.  This  sum  is  supposed  to  recompense  them  for 
the  outlay  involved  in  rearing  the  young  girl.  But  this 
custom  is  valuable  in  this,  that  the  possession  of  so 
large  a  sum  by  a  young  workingman  is  the  best  possible 
guarantee  that  the  son-in-law  has  acquired  steady 
habits,  and  is  competent  to  provide  for  his  family.  If 
a  test  of  this  nature  could  be  applied  with  us,  I  think 
paterfamilias  would  not  regard  it  as  the  worst  of  insti- 
tutions. These  Chinese  have  ideas  that  are  sometimes 
worth  thinking  over. 

Friday,  December  13. 

Our  intended  trip  up  the  Yang-tse  has  been  inter- 
fered with  by  a  storm  of  rain  and  dense  fog,  but  the 
days  never  seem  long.  We  get  a  little  time  to  read  up. 
Our  book-table  shows  seven  important  works  on  China 
and  its  people — all  interesting.  To-day  is  marked  by  a 
notable  invitation  to  dinner  extended  to  us  through 
General  Bailey.  We  are  to  have  the  honor — one  not 
often  bestowed  upon  globe  trotters — of  dining  with  the 
Mandarin. 

The  dinner  lasted  more  than  three  hours,  and  was 
composed  of  I  don't  know  how  many  courses.  I  de- 
pended upon  Vandy  to  keep  count,  but  he   found  so 


94 


Round  the   World. 


much  to  wonder  at  that  he  lost  the  run  when  in  the 
teens.  From  birds'-nest  soup,  which,  by  the  way,  is  in- 
sipid, to  shark's  fin  and  bamboo  shoots  in  rapid  succes- 
sion, we  had  it  all.  I  thought  each  course  would  surely 
be  the  last ;  but  finally  we  did  get  to  sweet  dishes,  and  I 
knew  we  were  approaching  the  end.  Then  came  the 
bowl  of  rice  and  tea,  which  are  supposed  to  be  able  to 
neutralize  the  mess  which  has  gone  before.  Our  host 
pressed  all  to  drink  frequently  of  a  celebrated  native 
wine,  the  champagne  of  China,  grown  in  his  district,  of 
the  quality  of  which  he  seemed  very  proud.  Whenever 
he  showed  the  bottom  of  his  cup,  guests  were  expected 
to  empty  and  replenish  theirs.  I  did  the  best  I  could, 
both  as  to  tasting  the  compounds  and  drinking  the 
wine,  but  I  fear  I  was  voted  not  a  great  success  in 
either.  The  natives  were  quite  hilarious,  and  smoked 
at  intervals  during  the  feast.  They  played  the  ancient 
game  of  digits  like  Romans,  and  also  a  Japanese  game 
with  the  hands  and  arms,  the  loser  in  every  case 
being  compelled  to  drain  his  cup.  When  tea  was 
served,  the  Mandarin,  through  his  interpreter,  addressed 
General  Bailey,  as  the  principal  dignitary  present,  thank- 
ing him  for  the  great  honor  conferred  upon  his  humble 
self  by  those  present  having  condescended  to  sit  at  his 
table.  The  general's  reply  was  equally  polite  and  very 
happy,  and  appeared  to  please  our  host  greatly,  who 
then  hoped  that  the  illustrious  travellers  from  America 
would  be  pleased  with  China  and  return  safely  to  their 


A  Mandarin  DiJtner.  95 

great  country  from  their  journey  round  the  world,  add- 
ing that,  having  now  got  the  telegraph,  America  and 
China  and  all  countries  were  brought  nearer  to  one  an- 
other, and  would  know  each  other  better.  I  replied  that 
this  was  happily  true,  and  ventured  to  express  the  be- 
lief that  as  we  knew  each  other  better  we  should  also 
like  each  other  more,  and  that  as  we,  and  all  modern 
nations,  had  learned  so  much  from  his  country  in  the 
past,  I  hoped  that  in  return  we  might  be  able,  to  some 
extent  at  least,  to  repay  that  debt  by  perhaps  showing 
China  some  things  which  she  could  adopt  with  advan- 
tage. To  this  sentiment  there  was  a  most  cordial 
response. 

Before  rising  from  table  the  photograph  of  the  host 
was  presented  to  each  guest.  I  requested  that  his 
autograph  be  put  upon  ours,  that  we  could  insert  it  in 
our  albums  among  the  eminent  men  we  met.  He  re- 
plied that  he  must  then  go  at  the  very  end,  because 
he  had  not  on  his  Mandarin  hat.  But  I  asked  the 
interpreter  to  assure  him  that  we  in  America  did  not 
care  about  the  hat ;  "  it  was  the  head  that  was  in  it " 
which  had  raised  him  so  high.  This  appeared  to  please 
the  company  inordinately,  and  we  got  the  autograph, 
and  so  ended  our  first,  and,  in  all  probability,  our  last. 
Mandarin  dinner.  Vandy  ate  and  drank  of  everything 
offered  him,  and  this  morning,  when  I  fully  expected 
him  to  be  as  sick  as  a  dog,  and  with  a  head  like  to  split, 
he  surprised  me  by  reporting  himself  as  all  right,  and 


96  Rotmd  the   World. 

telling  me  that  in  some  respects  Mandarin  cooking  beats 
the  world.  I  should  mention  that  the  politeness  of  our 
host  was  overpowering.  The  first  course  he  served 
himself  to  each  guest,  his  servants  following  him  round 
the  table  and  handing  him  the  dishes  ("and  I  my- 
self shall  be  your  servant,  sir,  says  good  Uncle  Toby  "), 
and  upon  entering,  as  well  as  upon  retiring,  he  stood  in 
the  open  court  outside  of  his  threshold  to  welcome  and 
to  bid  farewell.  The  shaking  of  one's  own  hands  instead 
of  grasping  those  of  your  friends  is  soon  learned  ;  but 
what  a  world  of  pleasure  the  Chinaman  misses  by  his 
mode ! 

Of  course  we  saw  none  of  the  ladies  of  the  house- 
hold, nor  were  they  inquired  for  or  referred  to  by  any 
of  us.  If  a  Chinese  gentleman  were  asked  how  many 
children  he  had,  he  would  probably  not  count  the  girls 
at  all,  but  at  all  events  he  would  distinguish  thus:  two 
children  and  a  girl.  When  a  boy  is  born  the  father  is 
overwhelmed  with  congratulations,  presents  are  sent, 
and  rejoicing  takes  place.  If  the  little  stranger  happen 
to  be  a  girl,  the  event  is  hushed  up.  No  reference  is 
ever  made  to  the  great  misfortune  which  has  befallen 
the  expectant  father.  Friends  are  apprised  of  the  re- 
sult by  advertisements  carried  through  the  streets.  Yel- 
low strips  of  paper  are  used  if  the  child  is  a  boy ;  any 
other  color  means  a  girl.  Among  the  poorer  classes  girl 
babies  are  frequently  drowned.  Some  estimate  that  in 
the  Shanghai  district  one-third  are  so  destroyed;  the 


Chinese  Simplicity.  97 

excuse  given  by  the  parents  is  that  they  cannot  afford 
to  rear  a  girl.  Men  monopolize  most  of  the  occupations 
here,  and  a  woman  can  earn  little  or  nothing ;  besides,  a 
husband  for  every  girl  must  be  provided  upon  some 
terms.  After  a  certain  age  an  unmarried  woman  is 
regarded  as  disreputable,  entailing  something  of  dis- 
grace upon  her  family ;  and  so  China  lacks  that  most 
useful,  and,  as  far  as  my  experience  goes,  most  unjustly 
maligned  class — old  maids. 

A  universal  sameness  prevails  in  China  which  soon 
becomes  monotonous.  One  street  looks  precisely  like 
another.  If  a  traveller  were  set  down  in  any  city  of 
China,  he  would  be  at  a  loss  to  tell  where  he  was.  It 
might  be  Shanghai,  Canton,  or  Peking.  There  are 
the  same  rows  of  one-story,  or,  at  most,  one-and-a-half- 
story  huts,  without  the  slightest  attempt  at  ornament 
or  variety.  There  are  no  grand  mansions  scattered 
throughout  the  land,  no  city  halls,  colleges  or  com- 
mercial exchanges,  as  with  us,  but  one  dead  flat  level  of 
low  structures  wherever  you  go.  Probably  the  exac- 
tions to  which  wealth  is  subject  here  has  much  to  do 
with  this ;  all  are  concerned  to  hide  their  resources,  but 
I  am  told  the  Chinese  educated  mind  has  really  reached 
the  stage  in  which  ostentatious  display  is  regarded  with 
contempt.  It  seeks  escape  from  ceremony  and  show,  in 
sweet  simplicity  of  living,  as  most  truly  great  men  have 
done  and  are  doing  more  and  more. 

Life  "^«  grand  seigneur''  has  never  been  the  foible 
7 


98  Round  the   World. 

of  the  rich  American,  but  as  the  seigneur  is  a  species  of 
recent  growth  and  has  not  yet  had  time  to  blossom  into 
flower  and  show  us  just  to  what  his  nature  turns,  we 
must  watch  his  movements  hereafter  with  interest.  So 
far,  he  seems  endued  with  quiet  tastes,  as  far  as  personal 
parade  is  concerned.  A  few  have  built  grand  mansions, 
but  still  live  plainly  in  the  matter  of  retinue  and  cere- 
monial. 

Even  in  England  one  notes  nowadays  a  general  ex- 
pression of  disappointment  at  the  result  of  living  up  to 
one's  rank,  according  to  the  old  standard.  It  is  not 
altogether  from  lack  of  means  to  maintain  great  style, 
although  this  is  the  real  reason  with  the  majority,  per- 
haps, who  have  abandoned  former  habits.  Another  cause 
is  operating,  even  with  such  as  are  wealthy  :  the  squire 
or  his  lordship  is  not  the  all  in  all  of  his  district  any 
more ;  and  he  is  educated  now,  in  many  cases,  to  enjoy 
intellectual  pleasures,  which  he  finds  incompatible  with 
so  much  society  and  numerous  establishments  with  their 
endless  staffs  of  servants  to  maintain.  Many  of  the 
stately  homes  of  England,  therefore,  are  for  rent,  and 
their  owners  live  more  within  themselves  and  in  sim- 
pler manner  than  before. 


Shanghai,  Saturday,  December  14. 
We   leave   for   Hong    Kong,   eight   hundred   miles 
south,  by  the  mail  steamer  which  sails  at  daylight.    Our 
usual  good  fortune  attends  us.     The  monsoon  blew  us 


Hong  Kong.  99 

to  port  one  night  sooner  than  we  expected.  A  night 
saved  was  quite  an  object,  as  the  Geelong  is  a  small 
craft,  and  her  rocking  means  something.  Vandy  was 
very  ill,  but  I  managed  to  report  regularly  at  table  as 
usual.  We  slept  on  shore  Tuesday  night,  and  the  morn- 
ing revealed  one  of  the  prettiest  places  we  have  ever 
seen  in  the  East.  Hong  Kong  is  an  island  about  twenty- 
six  miles  in  circumference,  situated  one  mile  from  the 
mainland  of  China,  and  just  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
leading  to  Canton.  There  is  scarcely  an  acre  of  level 
ground  upon  it  except  one  httle  spot  which  does  duty 
as  a  race-course,  and  is  not  level  either  by  any  means. 
A  narrow  strip  fronting  the  water  is  occupied  by  the 
city  of  Victoria,  which  extends  about  three  miles,  but 
back  of  this  the  ground  rises  rapidly,  and  houses  cluster 
upon  the  steep  sides  of  the  mountain.  Nevertheless, 
public  gardens  have  been  laid  out  with  exquisite  taste 
and  skill  upon  the  hillside,  and  excellent  walks  reach  to 
the  very  top  of  the  peak,  more  than  eighteen  hundred 
feet  high.  So  closely  does  this  crag  overhang  the  town 
below  that  a  stone  could  be  dropped  into  the  settle- 
ment from  its  crest. 

It  is  the  thing  in  Hong  Kong  to  do  the  Peak,  and 
we  did  it,  but  not  in  a  manner  very  creditable  to 
our  staying  powers,  I  fear.  The  fact  is,  we  had  been 
tossed  for  some  days  upon  a  small  ship.  It  was  exceed- 
ingly warm.  We  were  very  tired  (conscience  sug- 
gested another  word  for  tired) ;  in  short,  there  were  a 


loo  Round  the   World. 

dozen  reasons — good,  bad,  and  indifferent — why  two 
strong,  lusty  fellows  should,  under  the  circumstances, 
be  carried  up  instead  of  attacking  the  Peak  on  foot ; 
and  so  each  of  us,  in  a  sedan  chair,  borne  by  four  strong 
coolies,  managed  to  get  to  the  top  and  enjoy  the  splen- 
did view,  coming  down  in  the  same  novel  manner.  It 
was  surprising,  after  we  had  returned,  to  find  how  de- 
cided a  misunderstanding  had  arisen  between  us  on  the 
subject.  I  had  not  pressed  walking  up  on  Vandy's  ac- 
count, while  he  had  only  denied  himself  that  wished-for 
pleasure  in  deference  to  my  supposed  inability.  You 
see,  had  this  point  been  made  clearer  before  we  started, 
we  might  have  had  the  walk  after  all.  As  it  is,  the 
credit  of  both  is  fairly  maintained,  and  I  do  think  that 
neither  of  us  regrets  the  unfortunate  misunderstanding; 
one  gets  so  lazy  in  these  latitudes ! 

More  than  a  hundred  thousand  Chinese  have  come 
from  the  main  land  to  reside  in  Hong  Kong  and  enjoy 
the  benefits  of  British  rule,  and  the  population,  which 
in  1 841  was  only  five  thousand,  is  now  a  hundred  and 
forty  thousand.  So  the  good  work  of  reforming  China 
goes  forward  by  the  surest  of  all  means,  good  example. 
It  is  at  such  points  as  Hong  Kong — one  of  the  keys  of 
the  world — that  England  does  her  real  work  and  lifts  up 
mankind. 


Thursday,  December  19. 
We   took  the    steamer   for   the  Paris  of  the    East, 
far-famed     Canton,    distant     ninety-five     miles.       The 


Canton,  loi 

steamer  is  just  an  American  river  boat,  and  we  enjoyed 
the  trip  very  highly.  And  here  let  me  note  two  strange 
customs  which  prevail  in  China.  First,  your  passage 
money  generally  embraces  all  the  liquor,  beer,  or  wine 
you  choose  to  consume  on  the  trip.  Such  was  the  case 
to-day,  and  passengers  were  free  to  call  for  anything 
they  wished  to  drink  at  any  time  (champagne  ex- 
cepted). The  other  custom  is  universal.  There  is  no 
coin  in  circulation  but  silver,  and  it  is  so  heavy  that 
Europeans  have  adopted  the  habit  of  carrying  none, 
giving  for  any  debt  incurred  I.  O.  U.'s,  called  "chits," 
which  are  sent  in  at  the  end  of  each  month  for  pay- 
ment ;  a  vicious  custom,  which  leads  to  deplorable  ex- 
cesses, especially  in  drinking  and  in  gambling.  Men 
drink  and  gamble  more  freely  when  immediate  payment 
is  not  required,  or  when  the  chances  of  a  lucky  turn 
may  recoup  their  losses;  besides,  many  who  have  no 
means  to  pay  incur  debts.  Indeed,  so  many  cases  of 
this  kind  have  happened  since  "  hard  times  set  in  "  that 
I  am  encouraged  to  hope  the  end  of  "  chits"  approaches. 
The  rule  at  the  clubs  now  is  that  no  chits  can  be  given 
beyond  a  trifling  amount  each  month,  and  that  they 
must  be  promptly  redeemed.  Canton  was  reached  by 
four  in  the  afternoon,  and  such  a  swarm  of  small  boats  as 
surrounded  us  was  never  seen  elsewhere.  When  we  were 
a  full  mile  from  the  wharf  I  saw  the  mass  begin  to  stir, 
and  such  a  stir !  and  almost  all  rowed  by  women,  yell- 
ing and  striving,  and  dashing  one  boat  against  another. 


I02  Roujid  the   World. 

in  their  efforts  to  be  first.  One  of  the  most  active 
scrambled  up  the  guards  and  reached  us  on  the  upper 
deck  almost  before  the  boat  had  stopped,  and  secured 
us  as  her  spoil.  How  she  and  a  young  girl  handled  our 
trunks,  carrying  them  over  intervening  boats  and  then 
coming  back  for  us,  giving  us  her  hand  to  convey 
us  to  her  craft !  No  mistaking  her  business  capacity, 
nor  her  ability  to  cope  with  the  strongest  and  most 
active  man  and  capture  two  passengers  to  his  one. 
John  is  no  match  for  a  Canton  boatwoman  on  water, 
whatever  he  may  be  on  land. 


Canton,  Friday,  December  20. 
We  have  just  returned  from  our  first  stroll  through 
the  narrow,  crowded  alleys  of  Canton.  Pictures  and 
descriptions  had  prepared  us  for  what  we  were  to  see, 
but,  as  is  usual  in  the  East,  we  knew  nothing  until  we 
had  seen  for  ourselves.  In  most  cases  the  more  one 
reads  or  hears  about  a  certain  locality  the  more  confused 
he  is  when  he  visits  it.  He  was  a  traveller  who 
first  said,  "  The  eye  and  the  ear  are  close  together, 
but  what  a  distance  between  hearing  and  seeing !  "  This 
recurs  to  me  constantly.  But  to  revert  to  Canton.  We 
decided  to  walk  instead  of  following  the  custom  of 
Europeans,  who  generally  take  sedan  chairs  and  dash 
through,  seeing  nothing  in  detail.  We  cross  the  river 
by  one  of  the  innumerable  boats  rowed  by  women,  and 
are  in  the  city.     For  five  hours  we  are  guided  through 


Canton  Streets,  103 

streets  varying  from  six  to  ten  feet  in  width  through 
one  continuous  ma3s  of  Chinamen.  As  for  Chinawomen, 
they  are  rarely  or  never  seen.  A  few  men  are  in  silks ; 
numbers  of  coolies,  with  loads,  are  almost  naked,  but 
more,  of  a  slightly  higher  order,  are  in  rags  ;  for  the 
Chinese,  unlike  their  scrupulously  clean  brethren  of 
Japan,  appear  to  pile  on  one  tattered,  greasy  cloth  rag 
over  another  until  they  are  a  bundle  of  filth,  against 
which  you  fear  at  every  step  lest  you  may  be  pushed. 
The  shops  or  booths  on  each  side  of  the  narrow  streets 
are  resplendent  just  now,  preparatory  to  the  New-Year 
celebrations,  and  those  which  make  temple  decorations 
a  specialty  are  brilliant  in  the  extreme.  As  every  shop, 
house  or  boat  contains  an  altar,  which,  as  well  as  those 
in  the  public  temples,  must  be  freshly  decorated  at  the 
beginning  of  every  year,  the  extent  of  this  trade  is 
surprising,  and  all  that  tinsel  can  do  with  the  most  gor- 
geous coloring  imaginable  is  seen  in  this  branch  to  per- 
fection. One  thing  appears  very  strange :  even  in 
the  principal  streets  various  manufactures  are  carried 
on,  the  workmen  being  so  close  that  you  can  touch 
them  from  the  pavement  with  your  cane.  We  saw 
to-day  glass-making  in  a  space  not  more  than  fifteen 
feet  square,  iron-forging  and  shaping,  cloth-weaving, 
the  making  of  coffins  (such  massive  affairs  these  are, 
too,  in  China !),  of  Joss-sticks  and  Joss-money,  fire- 
crackers, and  many  other  articles.  The  front  part  of 
the  building  is  usually  occupied  by  the  shop  for  the 


104  Round  the   World. 

sale  of  the  product,  the  ornamental  shrine  serving  as  a 
kind  of  screen  to  shut  off  the  manufacturing  depart- 
ment ;  but  by  stepping  behind  you  see  crowds  of 
almost  nude  workmen,  hard  at  work,  making  by  hand 
with  the  aid  of  the  rudest  appliances  almost  every  article 
known.  The  wages  of  a  tradesman — a  carpenter,  for 
instance — is  fifteen  cents  per  day ;  in  addition  the 
master  has  to  give  him  three  times  per  day  his  rice,  etc., 
estimated  to  cost  six  to  eight  cents  more.  The  work- 
men are  fed  by  the  employer,  and  allowed  to  sleep  in 
and  about  the  premises  somewhere  or  somehow.  We 
saw  freely  exposed  for  sale  dogs,  rats,  and  mice,  all 
nicely  dressed  and  hanging  upon  spits  to  tempt  the 
hungry  passers-by,  while  above  a  large  pot  from  which 
the  steam  was  issuing  was  a  card,  which,  being  trans- 
lated by  our  guide,  read,  "  A  big  black  cat  within  ;  ready 
soon."  The  dogs  which  are  eaten  are  fed  especially  for 
the  purpose,  and  are  hung  up  in  state  with  labels  setting 
forth  their  superior  merits.  As  far  as  I  should  have 
known,  they  might  have  passed  for  delicious  young 
roasting  pigs,  delicate  enough  in  flavor  to  have  satisfied 
gentle  Elia  himself. 

Our  guide,  in  answer  to  numerous  questions  upon 
the  subject,  informed  us  that  some  of  his  countrymen 
had  acquired  a  taste  for  dogs,  while  others  had  suc- 
cumbed to  the  sweeter  attractions  of  cats ;  others 
again  found  rats  their  favorite  morsel,  but  in  all  cases 
these  penchants  are  indulged  in  on  the  sly.     Upon  no 


European  Settlemejit  at  Ca7ito7t.         105 

account  would  a  Chinaman  think  of  taking  either  of 
these  peculiar  delicacies  home,  for  it  appears  that  mes- 
dames,  much  to  their  credit,  have  serious  objections  to 
their  use.  They  draw  the  line  here,  and  the  husband 
must  confine  the  indulgence  of  his  uncanny  longings  to 
restaurants,  and  say  nothing  about  it,  or  his  lady  friends 
might  mark  him  as  one  of  whom  "  'twas  said  he  ate 
strange  flesh."  Contrary  to  the  statement  of  travellers, 
I  find  this  food  is  not  confined  to  the  poorer  classes. 
The  price  of  it  is  about  the  same  as  that  of  pork,  and 
far  beyond  that  of  hare  or  deer.  How  strange  these 
people  are !  The  price  of  a  black  dog  or  cat  is  fully 
double  that  of  a  white  one,  the  superstition  being  that 
the  former  makes  blood  much  faster  than  the  other, 
while  rats  are  supposed  to  make  the  hair  grow. 

We  returned  to  our  hotel  in  time  for  luncheon,  and 
in  the  afternoon  called  upon  Captain  Lincoln,  the 
United  States  Consul,  to  whom  General  Bailey  had 
given  us  letters  which  secured  us  a  cordial  reception. 
The  European  settlement  at  Canton  is  very  pretty,  with 
its  broad,  well-shaded  avenues,  exquisite  flower-garden, 
and  lawn-tennis  and  croquet  grounds.  Its  club-house  is 
a  gem,  comprising  a  small  theatre,  billiard-room  and 
bowling-alley — everything  complete.  The  colonel  took 
us  for  a  stroll  about  the  settlement,  and  pressed  us  to 
join  a  party  he  was  just  about  taking  over  the  river  to 
visit  the  best  flower-gardens  of  the  city.  We  could  not 
decline  such  a  treat,  and  this  gave  us  the  pleasure  of 


io6  Round  the   World. 

meeting  Mrs.  Lincoln,  who  is  so  well  known  in  China  as 
to  be  regarded  somewhat  in  the  light  of  an  historical 
character.  Her  collection  of  teapots  promises  to  render 
her  famous.  She  boasts  already  of  more  than  two  hun- 
dred, no  two  alike  in  form,  and  the  record  grows  day  by 
day;  and  the  melancholy  feature  is  that  there  is  no 
end  for  the  passion  save  in  death,  a  mania  for  "  a  bit  of 
the  blue  "  ranking  first  in  the  list  of  diseases  for  which 
materia  medica  boasts  no  antidote. 

Almost  everything  seems  to  have  been  tried  in  China 
during  its  thousands  of  years  of  national  life.  We  read 
for  instance  that  in  A.D.  841  the  emperor,  seeing  the 
evils  of  monasteries  and  nunneries,  suddenly  closed 
them  all  and  sent  the  inmates  back  to  their  families. 
So  far,  perhaps,  so  good ;  but  he  also  shut  up  all  the 
temples  and  told  the  priests  to  turn  their  faces  in  the 
direction  from  which  they  came.  He  was  far  too 
**  thorough,"  and  when  the  next  emperor  was  so  favored 
by  heaven  as  to  become  the  discoverer  of  a  veritable 
bone  of  Buddha  and  brought  it  to  the  capital  with 
many  solemn  ceremonies,  the  people  were  quite  ready 
for  the  inevitable  reaction,  and  Buddhism  was  again  re- 
stored. This  is  a  comparatively  modern  instance. 
Away  back  two  hundred  and  more  years  B.C.,  we  find 
the  famous  builder  of  the  Great  Wall  attempting  an  im- 
possible task  with  no  better  result.  He  was  a  great 
reformer — indeed  the  first  universal  emperor  of  all 
existing  China,  which  was  consolidated  by  his  genius. 


Chinese  Reform.  107 

The  privileged  classes,  of  course,  opposed  his  reforms 
and  gave  him  much  trouble  by  holding  up  to  the  admi- 
ration of  the  people  the  feudal  times  of  the  past,  and  ex- 
tolling the  heroes  of  those  days  to  the  disadvantage  of 
those  of  the  present.  At  last  the  emperor  resolved  to 
break  with  the  past  altogether,  and  ordered  that  all 
books  should  be  burned  except  such  as  referred  to  his 
own  reign ,  that  all  who  even  spoke  of  other  books 
should  be  put  to  death  ;  that  those  who  spoke  of  the 
past  as  superior  to  the  present  should  be  put  to  death, 
and  their  relatives  as  well.  Soon  after  this  order,  more 
than  four  hundred  who  had  disobeyed  it  were  ordered 
to  be  executed.  Even  the  books  of  Confucius  were  not 
exempt ;  indeed  these  were  chief  offenders,  for  the  sage 
was  remarkable  for  such  worship  of  the  past  as  has 
scarcely  a  precedent  in  history. 

Of  course  such  an  order  could  not  be  carried  out. 
The  condemned  books  were  secreted  and  all  the  more 
venerated  from  the  dangers  which  surrounded  their 
possession.  To-day  we  are  thankful  that  so  many 
books  exist  telling  truthfully  of  the  past — those  good 
old  times  which  were  very  bad  times  indeed.  The  his- 
tory of  the  past  should  be  studied  carefully  that  we  may 
learn  not  what  to  copy,  but  what  to  avoid.  Let  all  the 
records  be  preserved. 

I  take  it  that  to  many  blessings  for  which  we  have  to 
thank  the  Heathen  Chinee  may  be  added  our  axiom : 
"  Resistance   to   tyrants   is   obedience  to   God."     The 


io8  Round  the    World. 

Emperor  of  China  is  in  theory  the  most  absolute  of 
rulers,  and  holds  in  his  hands  the  power  of  life  and 
death — "  whom  he  wills  he  slays,  and  whom  he  wills 
he  keeps  alive."  So  runs  the  edict.  It  is  the  duty 
of  the  subject  to  render  implicit  obedience.  But 
here  follows  another  duty  no  less  imperative :  He  is 
bound  to  resist  the  emperor's  authority  if  he  "  ceases  to 
be  a  minister  of  God  for  the  good  of  his  people."  Con- 
fucius distinctly  teaches  "  the  sacred  right  of  rebellion," 
and  the  next  highest  authority,  Mencius,  puts  it  in 
even  stronger  terms.  This  seems  a  striking  anomaly, 
for  the  whole  theory  of  government  to-day,  as  thou- 
sands of  years  ago,  is  the  patriarchal  one :  as  the  em- 
peror is  the  Son  of  Heaven,  so  his  people  are  the  sons 
of  the  emperor,  and  he  alone  can  intercede  between 
his  children  and  heaven.  It  is  his  prayers  and  sacri- 
fices to  which  supreme  importance  is  attached.  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Chinaman 
believes  it  to  be  his  duty  to  dethrone  a  bad  emperor 
and  even  to  put  him  to  death.  You  see,  my  friends,  a 
Chinese  emperor  can  do  wrong,  which  follows  from  his 
having  power  direct  from  heaven  to  do  anything ; 
therefore  the  right  to  decapitate  him  upon  occasion 
must  be  reserved  to  the  people.  It  is  only  in  England 
that  the  doctrine  that  the  king  can  do  no  wrong  can 
safely  be  accepted.  It  is  quite  true  there,  for  these 
Islanders  have  so  managed  matters  as  not  to  allow 
that   ornamental   appendage    to    do    anything   beyond 


hivention  of  Printing.  109 

opening  fancy  bazaars  or  laying  foundation  stones, 
where  even  an  hereditary  monarch  cannot  go  very  far 
astray. 

On  the  8th  day  of  the  I2th  month,  in  the  reign  of 
Man-Ti,  A.D.  593,  occurred  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
events  in  the  history  of  our  race.  An  edict  was  issued 
that  the  various  texts  then  in  circulation  should  be  col- 
lected and  engraved  on  wood,  to  be  printed  and  pub- 
lished. Here  began  the  art  of  printing,  but  it  was  not 
till  a  blacksmith  named  Pe-Ching,  three  or  four  hundred 
years  later,  invented  movable  types  that  the  astound- 
ing possibilities  of  the  invention  were  seen.  Off  hats  to 
the  memory  of  that  learned  blacksmith !  Tall  oaks 
from  little  acorns  grow ;  but  surely  never  before  nor 
since  has  the  world  seen  such  stupendous  results  from 
so  small  a  change  as  that  of  substituting  little  pieces  of 
wood,  each  with  one  character  upon  it,  for  larger  pieces 
which  contained  many.  That  blacksmith  has  revolu- 
tionized the  world.  I  shall  never  pass  one  of  the  craft 
again  without  honoring  him  as  distantly  related  to 
Pe-Ching  by  virtue  of  his  calling.  Vulcan  has  done 
much  in  the  past  in  his  smithy,  forging  the  thunder- 
bolts of  war,  but  put  all  such  weapons  together  and  I 
will  back  the  movable  types  of  Pe-Ching  for  victory. 

China  carries  the  principle  of  home  rule  to  a  greater 
extent  even  than  the  United  States  do,  for  each 
province  not  only  manages  its  own  local  affairs  and 
levies  its  own  taxes,  but  also  supports  its  only  army 


I  lo  Round  the   World. 

and  navy.  This  would  seem  fatal  to  the  organization 
of  solid,  vital  forces ;  but  as  the  Chinese  have  passed 
farther  beyond  the  barbarous  thirst  for  so-called  "  glory  " 
(disgrace,  rather)  than  western  nations,  it  is  not 
essential  that  either  army  or  navy  should  be  efficient. 
Indeed,  the  less  so  the  better. 

I  trust,  however,  the  Chinese  cannot  rob  the  Re- 
public of  the  credit  of  having  the  poorest  navy  and 
smallest  army  among  the  nations,  for  this  I  consider 
perhaps  the  foremost  evidence  that  America  gives 
to  the  world  that  she  is  worthy  to  lead  our  race  to 
nobler  issues  than  those  which  have  so  largely  occupied 
it  in  the  past. 


Saturday,  December  21. 
To-day  has  been  devoted,  like  yesterday,  to  Canton 
sights  ;  but  as  we  had  several  distant  places  to  visit, 
we  took  sedan  chairs,  and  went  shouting  along,  four 
coolies  each,  Indian  file,  through  the  town,  forming 
quite  a  cavalcade,  with  our  guide  in  front.  It  was  the 
same  interminable  maze  of  narrow,  crowded  thorough- 
fares, crammed  with  human  beings,  that  we  had  seen 
for  the  first  time  yesterday.  A  great  commotion  was 
seen  ahead  at  one  place,  out  of  which  emerged  several 
men  in  crimson  robes,  bearing  banners,  clearing  the  way 
and  shouting  out  the  name  and  dignities  of  a  mandarin 
who  was  approaching.  An  ornamented  chair,  borne 
aloft,  came  into  view,  on  which  his  lordship,  an  official  of 
the  third  or  fourth  button,  sat  in  state,  followed  by  two 


Chinese  Gambling.  iii 

servants  on  ponies,  the  only  species  of  horseflesh  we 
have  seen  in  Canton.  It  is  with  considerable  difficulty 
that  even  these  small  animals  get  through,  and  their 
use  is  confined  to  escorting  high  officials. 

At  almost  every  corner  we  pass  crowds  of  poor 
wretches  gambling  in  various  modes,  from  fantan  down 
to  dice  and  dominoes.  Children  participate,  and  stake 
their  "  cash  "  with  the  elders  ;  indeed,  a  young  Celestial 
rarely  spends  his  stray  coppers  in  candy  without  tossing 
with  the  stall-keeper,  double  or  quits ;  the  little  scamps 
begin  early,  and  at  every  counter  we  noticed  the  dice 
lying  ready  to  facilitate  the  operation.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  the  vice  of  gambling  seems  inherent  in  the  Chinese 
character?  We  saw  rather  a  funny  illustration  of  this 
practice,  at  which  we  couldn't  help  laughing.  A  class 
of  venders  keep  a  large  pot  boiling  on  the  pavement  in 
some  partially  secluded  place,  in  which  is  an  assortment 
of  odds  and  ends.  Such  a  mess  of  tidbits — pieces  of 
liver,  chicken,  kidneys,  beef,  almost  every  conceivable 
thing !  These  the  owner  stirs  up,  taking  care,  I  thought, 
to  bring  the  largest  bits  adroitly  to  the  surface.  You 
should  see  the  longing  faces  of  the  hungry  beggars 
around.  One  risks  a  cash  (one-tenth  of  a  cent),  a 
rattle  of  the  dice — the  customer  has  won.  The  fork  is 
handed  to  him,  and  he  has  two  dabs  in  the  pot.  What 
a  prize !  Down  go  the  bonnes  bouches  one  after  the 
other,  and  back  goes  the  fork  to  the  pot-boiler,  who 
again  uses  it  to  stir  up  in  the  pot  prizes  to  tempt  the 


112  Round  the   Woi'ld. 

lucky  owner  of  funds  sufficient  for  the  indulgence  of 
this  piece  of  extravagance.  I  really  believe  the  poor, 
miserable,  hungry  wretches  lounging  around  the  pot 
derived  satisfaction  from  the  odor  emitted.  And  as 
the  lucky  gamester  gobbled  his  prizes,  I  imagined  every 
one  around  involuntarily  went  through  the  motion  of 
smacking  his  lips,  as  if  he  shared  in  the  inward  satis- 
faction of  his  lucky  neighbor.  Vandy  almost  over- 
whelmed one  of  these  people  by  handing  him  a  cash  to 
try  his  fortune;  but  he  thinks  his  man  was  too  hungry 
to  risk  the  dice,  and  took  the  sure  thing.  He  probably 
considered  one  bite  in  the  mouth  worth  two  in  the  pot ; 
but  he  wasn't  a  representative  Chinaman  by  any  means. 
At  one  point  our  guide  in  advance  called  a  halt,  and 
upon  our  dismounting  he  led  us  into  a  walled  enclosure, 
and  startled  us  with  the  information  that  we  were  in  the 
execution  grounds.  He  pointed  out  spots  still  damp 
with  the  blood  of  criminals,  several  jars  containing  the 
heads  of  victims,  the  protruding  hair  matted  with  the 
lime  used  to  decompose  the  flesh  more  rapidly,  and  a 
rude  cross  still  remaining  upon  which  a  woman  had  re- 
cently been  crucified  and  cut  to  pieces  while  alive.  Her 
crime  was  the  gravest  known  to  Chinese  law :  she  had 
murdered  her  husband.  Poor  wretch !  probably  he  had 
not  illy  deserved  his  fate  were  the  whole  story  known, 
for  the  provocation  which  would  nerve  a  woman  in 
China  to  rise  against  her  husband  and  owner  must  be 
beyond  human  endurance.     Instead  of  this  spot  being 


Literary  ExaminatioJis.  113 

set  apart  and  shunned  by  man,  woman  and  child,  as 
defiled  by  the  horrors  enacted  within  its  walls,  the  area 
was  filled  with  large  clay  jars,  used  as  stoves,  the  product 
of  a  manufactory  adjoining,  set  out  there  in  rows  to 
dry.  Men  moved  in  and  around  them  unconcernedly, 
and  at  the  entrance  and  within  the  enclosure  there  was 
a  temporary  fantan  gambling  shop,  composed  of  bam- 
boo poles  and  mats,  in  full  operation,  surrounded  by 
crowds  of  people.  Of  a  surety  the  Heathen  Chinee  is 
peculiar.  The  grounds  are  of  course  cleared  of  every- 
thing upon  "  execution  days,"  and  I  suppose  the  swarm- 
ing masses  of  Canton  see  no  reason  why  even  this  acre 
of  notorious  ground  should  be  permitted  to  lie  useless 
several  days  in  succession.  There  is  nothing  which  is, 
not  put  to  use  in  China. 

Our  next  visit  was  more  to  our  taste ;  it  was  to  the; 
place  of  the  literary  examinations,  which  are  held  every 
third  year.     Here  the  grounds  are  kept  in  good  order>. 
and  exclusively  devoted  to  this  noble  use.     It  is  well 
known  that  each  province  in  China  has  public  examina-- 
tions  for  its  students.   Those  who  are  successful  become: 
eligible  for  the  higher  examinations,  which  are  held  at 
Canton  and  at  two  or  three  of  the  other  great  cities. 
Candidates  who  pass  at  these  are  permitted  to  enter  for 
the  final  struggle  at  Peking,  where  success  brings  rank, 
honor,  and  fortune.  At  Canton  the  ten  acres  of  grounds 
are  covered  with  long  rows  of  brick  sheds,  divided  into 
stalls  about  six  by  four  feet,  with  neither  door  nor  win- 


114  Round  the   World. 

dow,  and  open  at  the  back ;  a  narrow  footway  permits 
entrance,  and  a  blank  wall  forms  the  front  of  the  suc- 
ceeding row,  and  so  on.  The  stalls  contain  no  furniture, 
but  a  board  extending  from  the  front,  half  the  length  of 
the  stall,  and  working  backward  and  forward  in  grooves 
in  the  wall,  is  used  as  a  seat ;  a  smaller  one  higher  up  at 
the  foot  of  the  stall  makes  a  writing-table,  and  these 
combined  made  a  bed.  A  small  lamp  is  furnished,  and 
the  aspirant  remains  for  three  days  and  nights  writing 
upon  subjects  given  to  him  after  he  has  entered  the 
stall.  No  chance  for  cramming  here.  Out  of  ten  thou- 
sand six  hundred  who  competed  last  year,  only  eighty- 
two  were  found  worthy  to  appear  at  Peking.  I  believe 
only  a  certain  number  can  succeed  throughout  the 
whole  Empire,  and  the  standard  is,  therefore,  kept  very 
high. 

Amid  much  which  causes  one  to  mourn  for  the  back- 
wardness of  this  country,  here  is  the  bright  jewel  in  her 
crown.  China  is,  as  far  as  I  know,  the  only  nation 
which  has  advanced  beyond  the  so-called  heroic  age 
when  the  soldier  claims  precedence.  England  and 
America  must  be  content  to  claim  that 

"  Peace  hath  her  victories 
No  less  renowned  than  war," 

while  here  the  triumphs  of  peace  are  held  in  chief 
esteem.  No  general,  no  conqueror,  be  his  victories  what 
they  may,  can  ever  in  China  attain  the  highest  rank. 


Chinese  A  ristocracy.  115 

That  is  held  only  by  successful  scholars  who  have  shown 
the  possession  of  Hterary  talent.  When  the  news 
reaches  a  town  or  village  that  a  townsman  has  been  vic- 
torious at  Peking,  a  general  rejoicing  takes  place,  and 
triumphal  arches  are  built  in  his  honor  to  witness  for 
centuries  how  deeply  they  appreciate  the  honor  con- 
ferred upon  the  town  by  their  illustrious  fellow-citizen. 
Upon  his  return  the  whole  population  turns  out  to 
meet  and  welcome  him,  and  his  career  inspires  other 
young  men  to  emulate  his  virtues.  Henceforth  his  life 
is  one  of  honor,  for  from  this  class  the  rulers  of  China 
are  taken.  These  are  the  Mandarins,  and  there  is  no 
other  aristocracy  in  China.  Nor  are  his  honors  heredi- 
tary. His  sons,  if  they  would  be  ennobled,  must  out- 
strip their  fellows  in  knowledge,  as  their  father  did 
before  them.  An  aristocracy  founded  upon  learning, 
and  composed  of  those  who  know  the  most,  is  an  insti- 
tution with  which  we  have  no  serious  quarrel.  It  is 
claims  from  birth  which  make  my  blood  boil.  These 
are  an  insult  to  every  commoner,  and  we  must  not 
rest  until  every  trace  of  hereditary  privilege  is  swept 
from  the  earth.  Neither  king,  queen,  prince,  nor  lord 
should  live  in  our  native  isle  to  insult  us  if  I  had  my 
way — and  my  way  may  come  ere  I  depart  if  I  get  the 
three  score  and  ten  allotted  to  mortals  by  the  psalmist. 
Our  trip  to-day  had  another  surprise  for  us.  We 
were  taken  to  the  city  court  and  prison.  A  poor 
naked   wretch   was   on   his   knees   as   we   entered,    his 


1 1 6  Round  the   World. 

back  a  mass  of  blood  caused  by  the  blows  just  Inflicted 
with  the  bamboo  which  an  officer,  standing  close  behind, 
still  held  over  the  victim,  ready  to  use  again  at  a 
word  from  the  judge.  What  a  quivering,  miserable 
spectacle  the  culprit  was !  As  I  write  this  I  can  see 
him  tremble.  His  reputed  crime  was  steahng,  but  he 
had  denied  it,  and  the  judge,  not  getting  satisfactory 
answers  to  his  questions,  had  ordered  the  bamboo  to  be 
applied.  Another  poor  soul  sat  under  torture,  laced  by 
ropes  against  a  large  flat  board  in  some  diabolical  man- 
ner so  that  his  features  were  distorted  by  pain,  while  at 
a  short  distance  from  the  door  many  hardened-looking 
criminals,  all  chained  to  large  balls  of  iron,  awaited  trial 
and  sentence.  The  most  enlightened  of  the  judges 
here  still  urge  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  adminis- 
ter justice  without  torture  or  physical  punishment  in 
order  to  force  replies  from  the  accused.  If  you  can 
compel  a  culprit  to  answer  every  question  which  a 
trained  examiner  is  allowed  to  put,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
convict  the  guilty.  With  us  we  forego  that  advantage 
by  requiring  no  man  to  convict  himself.  Here  he  has 
to  prove  his  innocence  in  a  measure ;  at  least  he  must 
tell  a  straight  story ;  and  this  he  would  never  do,  it  is 
said,  in  China,  unless  he  were  held  in  fear  of  bodily 
chastisement  or  torture.  It  is  an  effectual  mode  of 
getting  answers,  as  I  can  testify.  The  judge  asks  a 
question  which  goes  to  the  very  root  of  the  matter. 
The  wretch  hesitates  an  instant.     I  thought  I  could  see 


Fire-  Cracker   Worship.  117 

from  his  supplicating  gesture  that  he  felt  the  true 
answer  would  expose  his  guilt.  "Bamboo,  attend — 
ready ! "  Another  instant,  and  the  blow  descends,  the 
trembling  man  stammers  out  his  reply,  and  his  sen- 
tence is  pronounced.  Another,  who  has  been  cleverly 
allowed  to  witness  the  manner  in  which  recusant 
parties  are  dealt  with,  is  dragged  before  the  judge,  his 
back  bared,  and  he  falls  on  his  knees  to  make  answer. 
No  skilful  lawyers  here  to  defend  and  throw  around 
the  prisoner  the  safeguards  of  the  law;  but  neither  is 
there  any  upon  the  side  of  the  prosecution.  The  ac- 
cused has  only  to  satisfy  the  judge  by  giving  a  true  ac- 
count of  himself  and  his  doings.  I  should  say  an 
innocent  man  would  prefer  this  mode,  a  guilty  one  de- 
test it ;  and  this  seems  a  strong  argument  in  its  favor. 

My  room  fronts  on  the  river,  and  is  upon  the  second 
story  of  this  strange  little  hotel.  This  gives  me  fine 
views  of  the  unceasing  traffic  of  the  stream,  but  it  is 
not  without  its  disadvantages  as  a  place  of  rest  at 
night.  The  Chinese  gods,  or  devils  rather,  have  a  strong 
fondness  for  fire-crackers,  and  these  are  set  off  at  all 
hours  of  the  night  by  the  more  devout  of  the  boat- 
women  right  under  my  windows.  I  waken  with  a  start 
every  now  and  then,  as  an  unusally  large  bunch  is  fired. 
It  occurred  to  me  last  night  that  some  of  the  extra  fees 
bestowed  upon  our  woman  and  her  bright  little  sister 
may  be  responsible  for  part  of  this  species  of  devotion. 
It  is  very  likely  that  some  part  of  their  extra  earnings 


1 1 8  Round  the   World. 

is  considered  due  to  their  gods.  I  write  this  at  nine 
in  the  morning,  and  there  are  two  boats  busily  engaged 
in  their  prayers  just  now,  one  battery  of  crackers  re- 
sponding to  the  other.  One  would  almost  think  a  naval 
war  upon  a  small  scale  was  raging.  I  must  plead  igno- 
rance till  now  of  this  strange  manner  of  propitiating 
the  supernatural  powers.  If  I  ever  read  of  it,  it  has 
passed  away  and  been  forgotten,  like  a  thousand  things 
one  reads  of.  Another  custom  which  interferes  with 
slumber  is  the  noise  made  by  the  night  watchman,  who 
walks  backward  and  forward  beating  a  tenor  gong  with 
a  hard  stick.  One,  two,  three,  slowly,  followed  by  two 
quick  taps,  is  the  signal  that  all  is  well.  Extraordinary 
precautions  have  to  be  taken  in  the  cities  against  theft. 
Almost  every  block  has  its  watchman,  and  gates  short 
distances  apart  are  shut  at  nine  o'clock,  after  which 
only  those  known  personally  to  him  are  allowed  to 
pass.  One  provision  struck  me  as  putting  an  eiTectual 
check  upon  mischief  of  all  kinds :  no  one  is  allowed  to 
walk  after  night  without  carrying  a  lantern,  and  one 
found  disregarding  this  law  would  be  held  "  suspect." 
Our  landlord  told  me  that  the  watchman  would  be 
sternly  dealt  with  if  a  robbery  occurred,  as  he  is  held 
responsible  for  the  safety  of  his  block. 

The  boat  population  of  Canton  is  famous  as  being 
something  unique,  but  it  exceeds  all  ideas  I  had  formed 
of  it.  It  is  said  that  three  hundred  thousand  people 
live  in  boats  ranging  from  the  size  of  a  skiff  to  that  of  a 


yoss  Day.  119 

yawl.  I  have  seen  a  family  of  six  huddled  together  in 
one  of  the  former  size,  but  these  were  the  poorest  of 
the  poor.  The  usual  passenger  boat  is  twenty  feet  long 
by  four  and  a  half  wide — the  size  of  the  hotel  boats  we 
use.  We  got  into  one  this  morning,  and  as  the  crackers 
were  going  off  from  numerous  boats  on  all  sides,  our 
woman  explained  that  the  unusually  vigorous  fusilade 
was  owing  to  this  being  "Joss  day."  "All  people  go 
Jossee  Temple  this  day."  "Do  you  go?"  "No;  have 
got  Jossee  here  on  boatee."  "Where?  Show  us." 
With  that  one  of  the  girls  at  the  stern  pushed  aside 
two  small  sliding-doors  in  the  extreme  end  of  the  boat, 
and  revealed  a  little  shrine  with  a  lamp  ever  burning, 
and  Joss  sticks  in  the  incense  bowl.  The  entire  family 
burst  into  laughter  at  our  surprise,  evidently  tickled 
with  the  idea  that  it  was  a  decidedly  cute  thing  to  have 
their  Joss  cooped  up  "Jack-in-the-box"  style.  Yester- 
day the  Emperor,  at  Peking,  after  fasting  all  the  pre- 
vious day,  would  ascend  into  the  Temple  of  Heaven, 
accompanied  by  two  thousand  of  his  highest  officials, 
and  worship,  while  his  subjects  celebrate  the  event  by 
this  fire-cracker  carnival. 

I  was  curious  to  see  how  a  small  yawl  could  be  the 
residence  of  a  family,  and  examined  several  of  them. 
The  centre  of  the  extreme  stern  is  occupied  by  the  Joss 
temple,  on  either  side  of  which  small  dishes,  cans,  etc., 
are  arranged ;  then  comes  an  open  space  extending 
across  the  boat,  about  four  feet  long,  over  which  is 


I20  Rotcnd  the   World. 

thrown  a  light  board  about  six  inches  wide,  upon  which 
stands  the  woman  who  sculls  and  steers  the  craft.  A 
permanent  bamboo  roof  is  built  over  about  the  next 
six  feet  of  the  boat,  and  around  the  walls  are  hung  a 
few  ornaments,  generally  old-fashioned  plates  and  cheap 
prints  from  the  English  illustrated  papers,  while  on  a 
shelf  are  those  indispensable  articles,  the  smoking  pipes 
of  the  family — large  and  curious  affairs,  with  richly  or- 
namented square  brass  bowls  about  four  and  one-half  by 
two  inches  in  size.  A  tiny  china  tea-set  and  various  little 
"curios"  are  found  in  the  best  boats.  The  next  por- 
tion, where  passengers  sit,  has  nicely  cushioned  seats 
running  across  the  boat,  and  on  each  side  as  well,  and  is 
also  covered  by  the  roof.  Next  to  the  bow  is  a  platform 
three  feet  deep,  upon  which  stands  the  second  woman, 
who  rows  or  poles  the  boat,  as  may  be  necessary. 
Under  her  feet  is  the  kitchen,  and  she  has  only  to  lift 
a  board  to  show  a  small  square  covered  with  clay,  upon 
which  a  fire  can  be  built.  Pots  and  pans  are  seen 
snugly  stowed  away  around  this,  so  that,  by  means  of 
movable  platforms,  trap-doors,  etc.,  the  entire  boat  is 
rendered  available  to  its  very  keel.  At  night,  when  the 
business  of  carrying  passengers  is  over,  all  the  boards 
are  made  into  a  fine  flush  deck,  which  is  divided,  in  a 
very  few  minutes,  into  sleeping  apartments  by  means  of 
bamboo  poles  and  mats  ;  and  so  it  comes  to  pass  that 
what  I  was  before  disposed  to  believe  almost  impossible 
is  accomplished  with  a  degree  of  comfort  quite  surpris- 


Boat  Population.  121 

ing.  These  boat  people  live  for  less  than  ten  cents  a 
day.  Rent  there  is  none ;  food  costs  about  five  cents 
per  day  for  each  person ;  clothing  does  not  cost  two. 
From  the  child  of  eight  to  the  great-grandmother,  all 
do  something.  When  not  otherwise  engaged,  they  sew, 
make  Joss-sticks,  slit  bamboo,  or  do  something  or  other, 
the  baby  being  strapped  on  the  mother's  back  that  her 
capacity  for  work  may  not  be  interfered  with ;  and  her 
stepping  backward  and  forward  as  she  sculls  must  be 
a  soothing  lullaby,  for  we  haven't  heard  a  child  crying 
yet  in  China.  Upon  such  boats  as  I  have  here  at- 
tempted to  describe,  and  many  far  smaller  and  destitute 
of  ornament,  millions  of  the  people  of  China  live,  move, 
and  have  their  being.  Children  are  born,  old  men  die, 
upon  them,  and  many  thousands  of  their  occupants 
have  never  slept  a  night  upon  shore. 

I  was  surprised  to  hear  that  there  is  no  theatre  at 
Canton.  The  government  had  some  time  ago  to  pro- 
hibit night  performances,  as  they  were  constantly  the 
scenes  of  disorder.  The  only  amusement  is  furnished 
upon  large  gayly  decorated  boats,  where  feasts  are 
given,  at  which  girls  belonging  to  the  boats  appear  and 
sing.  We  saw  one  of  these,  but  it  was  a  poor  perform- 
ance compared  with  our  experience  in  Japan. 


Sunday,  December  22. 
We  allowed  our  guide  to  leave  us  for  to-day,  and 
strolled  about  alone.     In  the  early  part  of  our  walk  we 


122  Round  the   World. 

heard  music — a  harmonium  and  a  well-known  old  hymn 
tune — and  on  entering  a  building  found  Rev.  Dr.  Hop- 
per preaching  in  Chinese.  We  had  entered  at  the  wrong 
door,  and  were  among  the  women,  who  are  separated 
from  the  men  by  a  high,  solid  wall ;  but  Mrs.  Hopper 
rose  and  conducted  us  to  the  other  side,  and  after  ser- 
vice the  Doctor  came  and  greeted  us  cordially.  We  spent 
an  hour  in  their  house,  and  were  surprised  to  hear  that 
both  were  old  Pittsburghers.  There  were  at  church 
that  morning  about  thirty  Chinamen,  all  of  the  poorer 
classes,  principally  servants  and  dependents  of  Euro- 
peans. In  the  afternoon  we  stumbled  upon  the  large 
Catholic  cathedral,  which  is  now  almost  ready  for  use. 
It  is  a  magnificent  granite  structure,  three  hundred  feet 
long  and  eighty-eight  feet  wide.  If  anything  can  im- 
press the  Chinese  mind  it  must  be  grand  mass  in  such  a 
temple,  with  its  vaulted  roof,  stained  windows,  the 
swelling  organ,  and  all  the  "  pride,  pomp,  and  circum- 
stance "  of  Catholic  worship.  As  we  stood  admir- 
ing, the  saintly  bishop  approached  and  greeted  us  with 
exquisite  grace.  He  could  not  speak  English,  but  his 
French  was  the  easiest  to  understand  of  any  I  ever  lis- 
tened to,  and  my  little  knowledge  of  the  language  en- 
abled us  to  carry  on  an  interesting  conversation.  When 
I  told  him  I  had  been  in  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  and  had 
seen  the  Pope  when  the  assembled  thousands  fell  pros- 
trate before  him  as  he  advanced  up  the  aisle,  carried 
upon    his  palanquin,  he  seemed    much    affected,  and 


Chinese  Catholics.  123 

pressed  us  to  visit  his  quarters,  apologizing,  as  he 
showed  us  into  a  poor  one-story  building,  for  the  pov- 
erty of  his  apartments,  but  adding  that  the  \.xvl^  pritre 
Catholiqiie  must  needs  dwell  in  poverty  among  the  poor 
of  the  earth.  I  asked  if  he  did  not  expect  to  return 
to  France  to  die ;  but,  laying  his  hand  upon  his  heart, 
he  answered  that  he  must  not  allow  himself  to  think 
of  France,  since  it  had  pleased  God  to  place  him  here. 
For  thirty  years  he  had  labored  among  these  people, 
and  among  them  he  must  die ;  it  was  the  will  of  God. 
There  were  only  a  table  and  a  few  chairs  in  this 
bishop's  palace,  not  even  a  mat  or  carpet  on  the  floor; 
but  he  ordered  a  servant  to  bring  wine,  of  which  he 
only  tasted,  while  we  drank  '■'■  sa  sanity  He  subse- 
quently took  us  to  the  orphanage,  where  we  saw 
eighty  boys  being  educated.  About  an  equal  number 
of  little  girls  are  in  a  separate  building.  If  the  Chinese 
are  ever  to  be  reformed,  this  is  the  vv^ay  to  do  it — get 
control  of  the  young,  and  teach  them.  As  for  the  older 
generation,  I  fear  it  is  too  late  to  do  much  with  it. 
There  are  in  and  around  Canton  about  five  thousand 
Chinese  Catholics,  mostly  recruited,  I  understand,  from 
among  the  young,  taken  by  these  sagacious  workers 
into  their  schools  and  orphanages  and  other  institu- 
tions, and  educated  as  Christians  from  their  youth  up. 

When  I  told  the  good  Bishop  we  spent  our  sum- 
mers at  Cresson,  very  near  Loretto,  and  often  drove  to 
Count  Gallitzin's  tomb,  he  grasped  my  hand  and  gave 


124  Round  the   World. 

me  his  benediction.     Oh,  blessed  man  !  a  grand  Catho- 
lic, Father  Gallitzin ! 

Every  one  has  heard  of  the  great  wall  of  China, 
which  stretches  across  the  northern  frontier  from  the 
sea  to  the  westernmost  province,  a  distance  of  twelve  to 
fifteen  hundred  miles.  It  is  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  high, 
with  brick  towers  about  forty  feet  high  at  intervals 
along  the  whole  route.  This  gigantic  work  was  begun 
in  the  third  century  before  Christ  by  one  of  the  great- 
est rulers  of  men  the  world  has  ever  seen,  the  Em- 
peror Che  Hwang,  who  hoped  that  it  would  prove  an 
insuperable  barrier  to  the  inroads  of  the  Tartar  hordes. 
But  a  still  greater  warrior  than  he,  Genghis  Khan, 
leader  of  the  Mongols,  showed  in  12 12  that  it  could 
be  overcome.  To  this  day  the  Chinese  dynasty  is 
Tartar,  but  the  four  hundred  millions  of  people 
remain  the  same,  having  assimilated  the  foreign 
element.  The  Tartars  are  fast  becoming  Chinese, 
although  a  difference  between  the  races  is  still 
clearly  discernible.  The  Heathen  Chinee  changes  not. 
The  Jews  and  the  Scotch  are  perhaps  the  races  in 
Europe  who  preserve  their  types  with  the  greatest 
tenacity,  but  compared  with  the  Chinese  they  must  be 
considered  plasticity  itself.  Apart  from  their  over- 
whelming numbers,  which,  being  of  one  unvarying  type 
throughout,  constitute  a  mass  upon  which  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  make  much  impression,  one  sees  how 
climate  and  conditions  of  life  in  China  operate  to  bring 


Climatic  Changes.  125 

to  the  Chinese  type  all  foreign  elements,  and  to  retain 
them  there.  Mrs.  McC.  has  just  been  explaining  to  me 
to-day  how  much  trouble  she  has  to  keep  her  children, 
for  instance,  from  becoming  young  Celestials.  They  are 
of  pure  Scotch  parentage  upon  both  sides,  yet  are  con- 
stantly alarming  their  fond  mother  by  developing  tastes 
wholly  opposed  to  hers  in  food,  dress,  habits,  manners, 
language,  everything.  It  is  just  the  same  in  India: 
the  child  of  foreign  parents  there  must  be  taken  home 
for  years  before  he  is  seven  or  eight  years  old,  or  he  be- 
comes a  Hindoo.  We  have  just  such  differences  at  home 
in  a  less  degree.  If  two  brothers  leave  Boston  with 
their  families,  one  for  New  Orleans,  another  for  Chi- 
cago, the  differences  in  their  grandchildren  will  be  very 
noticeable.  The  dream  of  some  dreamer,  that  English- 
men can  be  grown  in  Hindostan  or  Australia,  or  even 
in  America  (or  in  Ireland,  for  that  matter),  will  be 
rudely  dispelled  by  a  few  weeks'  residence  in  China  or 
India.  The  opening  gowan  transplanted  from  its  Scot- 
tish glen  loses  its  modest  charm  and  grows  rank  upon 
the  prairies  of  the  West  even  in  its  second  year.  The 
shamrock  pines  away  in  exile  beyond  the  borders  of  its 
own  Emerald  Isle.  Man,  the  most  dehcately  touched 
of  all  to  fine  issues,  is  also  the  creature  of  his  sur- 
roundings, even  to  a  greater  degree. 

Monday,  December  23. 
Now  for  a  frank  confession.      Like  Mark  Twain's 
preacher  with  the    car   rhyme,  "  I  have  got    it,  got  it 


126  Roitnd  the    World. 

bad" — the  "curio  "  malady  In  one  of  its  most  virulent 
types.  Ever  since  we  were  dropped  upon  that  uncanny 
land  of  Japan  the  symptoms  of  forthcoming  disorder 
have  not  been  wanting.  I  had  to  succumb  occasion- 
ally, but  rallied  in  time  to  preserve  a  tolerably  clean 
bill  of  health.  But  if  I  have  one  weakness  more  than 
another,  it  is  for  the  harmony  of  sweet  sounds,  and 
this  the  tempter  knew  right  well.  I  met  my  fate  in 
the  famous  Temple  of  Hoonan,  in  which  is  the 
most  celebrated  "  gong "  in  China.  I  struck  it,  and 
listened.  For  more  than  one  full  minute,  I  believe, 
that  bowl  was  a  quivering  mass  of  delicious  sound.  I 
thought  it  would  never  cease  to  vibrate.  In  Japan  I 
had  counted  one  that  sounded  fifty  seconds,  and  its 
music  rang  in  my  ears  for  days.  I  asked  "  Ah-Cum  " 
why  the  temple  would  not  sell  this  gong  and  buy  an- 
other far  cheaper ;  for  my  opinion  is,  and  my  experi- 
ence too,  that  there  is  nothing  in  China  that  money 
will  not  buy.  However,  this  was  an  exception.  Well, 
does  the  priest  know  where  there  are  any  temple 
gongs  that  can  be  bought  ?  Yes,  three  that  belonged 
to  a  temple  destroyed  by  the  rebels  some  years  ago, 
and  which  were  still  in  the  hands  of  curio  dealers. 
The  address  was  obtained,  and  off  we  set  to  see  them. 
I  wish  I  could  describe  the  places  we  visited  in  our 
search,  the  collections  of  curios  we  saw  !  No  antiquary 
outside  of  Canton  ever  saw  a  tithe  of  the  strange  old 
things  we  examined.     One  might  stumble  upon  a  magic 


Gongs.  127 

mirror,  or  an  Aladdin's  lamp,  in  some  of  these  recesses, 

and  scarcely  wonder  at  it ;  all  is  so  strange.     But  to  the 

gongs.     There  is  a  little  bit  of  history  connected  with 

one  of  them  which  is  significant.     We  found  we  had  to 

get  from  one  of  the  priests  a  certain  ticket  before  the 

article  could  be  delivered.     I  thought  a  moment,  and 

then: 

"Oh,  my  prophetic  soul,  my  uncle !" 

It  was  even  so.  The  priest  had  seen  "  his  uncle,"  the 
curio  dealer,  and  in  some  moment  of  want  or  dire 
temptation  had  pledged  the  gong  of  the  temple  for 
an  advance.  I  got  those  which  had  a  fairer  record, 
and  told  our  guide  I  wanted  the  other  if  he  could  get 
it ;  but  this  was  impossible.  Judge  of  my  surprise,  how- 
ever, when  the  identical  gong  reached  me  at  Hong 
Kong.  I  have  it,  with  the  pawn  mark  fortunately  only 
partially  obliterated,  but  so  that  the  name  of  the  guilty 
priest  is  no  longer  legible.  Ah-Cum  must  have  bar- 
gained for  that  ticket,  the  rogue,  knowing  I  would  pay 
the  price  ;  but  really,  had  that  gong  reached  me  while 
in  Canton,  and  had  it  been  possible  for  me  to  return  it 
to  the  right  temple,  I  should  not  have  thought,  under 
the  circumstances,  of  carrying  it  off.  It  seems  as  if  I 
were  in  some  degree  a  receiver  of  stolen  goods ;  but  as 
it  only  came  to  me  after  we  had  reached  Hong  Kong, 
and  I  knew  neither  priest  nor  temple,  what  could  I  do 
but  decide  to  hold  it  myself  until  claimed  by  the  right- 
ful owners?    Therefore,  my  friends,  one  and  all  of  you, 


128  Round  the   World. 

please  take  notice :  whatever  you  may  take  a  fancy  to 
among  my  curios,  don't  ask  me  for  that  gong.  I  don't 
feel  my  title  quite  as  clear  as  I  could  wish  it,  but  I 
shall  ease  my  conscience  by  agreeing  with  myself  to  act 
as  temporary  custodian — only  that  and  nothing  more. 
There  are  others  beside  temples'  gongs,  and  I  have  to 
confess  to  several  (genuine  "■  sous  chows,"  all  of  them). 
Indeed  to-day  was  the  curio  day  throughout.  I  cannot 
give  even  a  partial  record  of  the  spoils  as  our  procession 
marched  hotelward  in  the  evening.  I  burst  into  loud 
laughter  as  I  eyed  our  party.  In  the  advance  was  Ah- 
Cum,  the  guide,  bearing  aloft  a  fearful  idol,  "  the  ugliest 
I  could  find  in  China,"  this  being  Sister  Lucy's  charac- 
teristic commission ;  Vandy  followed  with  his  pockets 
stuffed  with  " birds'-nests,"  "Joss-sticks,"  "temple 
money,"  and  etceteras  too  numerous  to  mention ;  then 
came  two  coolies,  one  after  the  other,  naked  as  Adam 
after  he  donned  the  fig-leaf,  carrying  the  gongs,  while  I 
brought  up  the  rear  with  fans,  vials,  ivory  carvings,  and 
what-not.  I  cannot  tell  what  part  of  this  maze  of  shops 
we  had  been  in,  but  the  curio  shops  were  so  far  from 
our  hotel  that  not  a  man  about  them  knew  where  it  was, 
although  there  is  but  one  European  hotel  in  the  city,  con- 
sequently the  coolies  had  to  follow  us.  Vandy  has  just 
reported  that  it  will  take  nine  boxes  to  hold  our  spoils 
from  here.  I  exclaim,  Vandy,  for  goodness'  sake  let  us 
get  out  of  this  immediately  and  try  to  regain  our  good, 
hard  common  sense,  and  be  sound,  practical  men  once 


The  Cti7'io  Mania.  129 

more.  Give  me  a  Pittsburgh  Commercial  and  let  me  see 
the  price  of  pig  metal,  and  what  is  said  of  steel  rails  and 
coke  and  manufactured  iron,  and  all  the  rest  of  it;  and 
that  monthly  report  of  the  Lucy  Furnaces  and  of 
the  Edgar  Thomson,  both  the  largest  upon  record. 
Thanks  !  Ah!  now  I  feel  better.  How  is  it  with  thee, 
my  friend  ?  Fortunately  Vandy  felt  the  necessity  for 
keeping  an  eye  upon  me,  and  he  never  was  in  such  dan- 
ger himself.  But  if  any  one  can  pass  through  Canton 
and  escape  a  touch  of  the  Toodleian  malady,  which 
prompts  one  to  buy  everything  one  sees,  I  warrant  him 
sound  to  the  core. 


Hong  Kong,  Christmas  Eve. 
We  returned  this  afternoon  from  Canton.     After  re- 
tiring I  heard  a  well-known  sound — the  ubiquitous  mos- 
quito.    It  was  rather  odd  to  be  compelled  to  rise  and 
ring  for  our  "  boy  "  to  put  up  mosquito-bars  on  Christ- 
mas evening,  but  it  had  to  be  done.     We  talked  till  late 
of  home,  and  speculated  upon  what  our  friends  would 
all  be  about  away  up  there  almost  above  our  heads — 
"  topside,"  as  John  Chinaman  always  expresses  it.     So 
far   we  have  only  one   paper   from   home;  no   letters,, 
these  having  been  missed  at  Shanghai.   The  news  of  the : 
triumph  of  hard  money  views  rejoiced  us  greatly,  as: 
proving  once  more  that  in  grave  emergencies  the  good 
sense  of  the  people  of  America  can  always  be  depended 
upon.     One  has  only  to  visit  the  East  to  see  what  evils 

the  silver  basis  entails  upon  a  nation. 
9 


130  Round  the   World. 

The  economy  practised  in  China  Is  striking.  A 
sweet  potato  is  sold  in  halves,  or  even  in  quarters,  if  re- 
quired;  ferriage  across  the  river  in' a  boat — a  stream 
as  wide  as  the  Ohio  at  Pittsburgh — costs  one-fifth  of  a 
cent,  and  you  can  engage  an  entire  boat  for  yourself  for 
a  cent,  if  you  wish  to  be  extravagant ;  poultry  is  sold  by 
the  piece,  as  we  sell  a  sheep,  the  wings,  breast,  legs,  all 
having  their  price,  and  even  the  very  feet  of  a  chicken 
being  sold  for  soup.  Common  iron  nails  are  laid  out  in 
lots  of  six  each ;  these  have  been  used  and  used  again, 
no  one  knows  how  often ;  we  see  the  people  at  work 
straightening  old  nails  at  every  turn.  You  can  buy  one- 
tenth  of  a  cent's  worth  (i  cash)  of  either  fish,  soup,  or 
rice.     Verily  things  are  down  to  a  fine  point  here ! 

In  one  of  our  strolls  we  came  upon  a  string  of  ten 
blind  beggars  wandering  through  the  narrow,  crowded 
street,  the  hands  of  each  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  one  in 
advance,  the  leader  beating  with  his  cane  upon  the  stone 
pavement,  and  all  beseeching  alms.  It  was  a  strange 
sight.  The  Chinese  Government  gives  to  every  blind 
person  a  small  monthly  pittance,  and  well-dressed  passers, 
I  observed,  generally  bestowed  a  cash  upon  the  gang. 

I  have  not  said  much  about  the  temples  of  Canton 
or  of  China,  as  they  are  poor  affairs  compared  with 
those  of  Japan ;  besides,  one  becomes  sated  with  temples 
which  are  for  the  most  part  copies  of  one  another;  the 
pagodas  are  much  more  picturesque  at  a  distance  than 
when  closely  inspected.     The  Chinese   actually  prefer 


Temple  of  the  Sages.  131 

all  their  places  to  smack  of  age,  and  repair  them  re- 
luctantly, so  that  all  have  a  dilapidated  air,  which  gives 
a  very  unfavorable  impression  to  a  stranger.  At  best, 
China  has  nothing  whatever  to  boast  of  in  the  way  of 
architecture.  We  did  not  see  a  structure  of  any  kind 
which  would  attract  a  moment's  notice,  a  few  pagodas 
and  temples,  perhaps,  excepted  ;  but  even  these  are 
poor  and  mean  affairs. 

The  only  temple  worthy  of  mention  I  saw  in 
any  part  of  China  is  that  of  the  Sages.  In  it  we 
were  shown  tolerably  good  busts  of  five  hundred 
of  the  most  famous  characters  known  to  Chinese  his- 
tory— all  the  writers,  statesmen,  and  rulers  who  have  dis- 
tinguished themselves  for  thousands  of  years.  Among 
them,  curiously  enough,  Marco  Polo  has  by  some  means 
found  a  place.  Compared  with  the  hideous  monsters 
worshipped  in  other  temples,  I  regarded  this  deifi- 
cation of  the  illustrious  dead  with  sincere  satisfaction. 
No  man  can  erect  a  house  superior  to  what  his  rank 
or  station  in  life  justifies.  A  public  ofificer  prescribes 
the  limit  of  expenditure,  after  investigating  the  affairs 
of  the  intending  builder,  as  every  one  in  China  tries  to 
conceal  his  wealth,  fearing  unjust  exactions  by  the  State. 
It  is  easy  to  see  why  no  palaces  are  forthcoming.  This 
is  not  "  liberty;"  but  I  suspect  several  of  my  friends  who 
have  erected  palatial  structures  of  late  years  have  seen 
reason  to  wish  that  such  a  safeguard  had  existed  when 
they  began  to  build. 


132  Rou7id  the   World. 

Christmas  Day. 

Yesterday's  papers  announced  that  the  Hallelujah 
Chorus  was  to  be  performed  in  the  English  Cathedral 
this  morning  at  eight  o'clock,  I  had  been  so  long  out 
of  the  region  of  music  that  I  rose  early  and  went  to 
church.  The  Japanese  and  Chinese  music  grated  so  on 
my  ears,  I  longed  to  hear  an  organ  once  more.  I  en- 
joyed the  service  very  much.  The  music  was  well  per- 
formed, and  as  for  the  sermon — I  had  to  be  back  for 
breakfast,  you  know.  It  was  specially  pleasing  to  see 
at  church  the  detachment  of  British  soldiers,  the  more 
so  as  they  were  Highlanders.  My  heart  will  warm  to 
the  tartan.  One  strange  feature  I  shall  not  soon  for- 
get. Several  soldiers,  in  their  scarlet  uniforms,  sang 
in  the  choir.  I  scarcely  ever  see  soldiers  without  being 
saddened  by  the  thought  that  the  civilization  of  the 
race  is  yet  little  better  than  a  name  when  so  much 
must  still  be  done  to  teach  millions  of  men  the  surest 
way  to  destroy  their  fellows ;  but  I  take  hope  from  this 
omen — these  mighty  men  of  war  engaged  this  morning 
chanting  the  seraphic  strains  which  proclaim  the  coming 
of  the  better  day  when  there  shall  reign  "  on  earth  peace, 
good-will  toward  men." 

Whatever  old  China  may  be  doing,  young  China  is 
progressing,  for  I  saw  in  the  park  this  morning  several 
youthful  Celestials,  with  their  pigtails  securely  tied  and 
out  of  the  way,  hard  at  cricket  and  baseball.  Nor  were 
they  "■  duffers  "  either,  although  our  wee  Willie  and  his 


Sunday  in  Hong  Kong.  133 

nine  could  no  doubt,  in  the  way  of  a  "  friendly  "  inning 
or  two,  show  the  lads  a  sweet  thing,  especially  in  the 
"  underthrow,"  for  which  my  little  nephew,  I  hear,  is 
famous. 

We  are  all  creatures  of  prejudice,  of  course,  but  I 
could  not  help  being  somewhat  shocked  on  Sunday,  as 
I  strolled  about  the  Cathedral,  to  see  some  thirty  odd 
sedan  chairs  on  the  one  side,  and  I  suppose  as  many  on 
the  other,  each  with  two,  three,  and  some  with  four  coolies 
in  gorgeous  liveries  in  attendance,  all  waiting  the  closing 
of  prayers,  lying  in  the  shade,  and  some  of  them 
improving  the  opportunity  to  enjoy  a  quiet  gamble 
with  dice  this  fine  Sunday  morning.  It  did  not  seem 
to  me  to  be  quite  consistent  for  some  of  my  Scotch 
friends  who  stand  so  stoutly  for  Sabbath  observance  to 
keep  so  many  human  beings  on  duty,  say  three  for 
one  who  worshipped,  just  to  save  them  from  walking 
a  few  short  squares  to  and  from  church,  for  the  town 
is  small  and  compact.  But  custom  has  much  to  do 
with  one's  prejudices,  for,  after  all,  how  is  this  worse 
than  to  roll  in  one's  carriage  to  our  Fifth  Avenue  tem- 
ples? Yet  this  never  struck  me  as  so  much  out  of  the 
way  before,  and  I  think,  unless  the  future  Mrs.  C. 
seriously  objects,  we  shall  walk  to  church  as  a  rule — 
when  we  go.  Really,  three  men  kept  at  work  that  one 
may  pray  seems  just  a  shade  out  of  proportion. 

I    astonished    Vandy  this   morning    by   getting   up 
early ;  but  I  did  not  care  to  explain  the  reason  for  this 


134  Round  the   World. 

phenomenon,  which  was  that  I  had  to  catch  the  Canton 
boat  to  send  a  note  back  to  Ah-Cum  asking  him  to  get 
me  certain  additional  curios  after  all.  While  at  Canton 
I  had  manfully  resisted  the  temptation,  but  the  thought 
of  leaving  China  without  the  treasures  proved  over- 
whelming, and  now  my  only  fear  is  lest  Ah-Cum  should 
fail  me.  I  confessed  to  Vandy,  after  we  had  had  a  glass 
of  good  wine  at  tififin,  and  I  shall  not  soon  forget  his  quiet 
smile.  "You've  got  it  bad,  haven't  you?"  'Twas  all 
he  said,  but  you  should  have  heard  the  touch  of  infinite 
pity  in  his  tone.  Yes,  I  have  got  it  bad,  I  know,  but 
to-morrow  we  shall  escape  from  this  old  curiosity  shop 
forever. 

The  fire-bell  rang  just  after  we  retired,  and  from 
eleven  o'clock  until  now  (two  this  afternoon — fifteen 
hours)  a  disastrous  conflagration  has  raged,  often 
threatening  to  consume  the  entire  settlement ;  indeed, 
nothing  could  have  saved  it  but  the  splendid  conduct 
of  the  74th  Highlanders.  They  were  everywhere,  and 
fought  the  fire  the  whole  night  long.  The  singers  of 
the  morning  were  the  intrepid  firemen  of  that  tem- 
pestuous night.  It  was  only  by  blowing  up  row  after 
row  of  buildings  that  the  flames  were  confined  to  one 
district.  I  saw  the  brave  fellows  march  into  the  build- 
ings upon  the  edge  of  the  swirling  flames  to  lay  the 
fuse.  A  moment  after  their  return  the  bugle  would 
sound ;  then  came  the  explosion,  and  the  men  were  off 
to  another  building  to  repeat  the  work.     All  was  done 


Slavery  in  China.  135 

by  bugle  call,  with  military  precision.  Ten  thousand 
times  more  "  glory  "  in  this  march  to  save  than  in  all 
the  charge  at  Balaklava.  Had  equal  pluck  been  shown 
on  the  field  of  battle,  the  flag  of  that  splendid  regiment 
would  have  blazoned  with  another  war-cry.  Let  them 
place  this  record  on  their  banners,  instead  of  the  name 
of  a  city  destroyed  :  December  25th,  1878.  Hong  Kong 
Saved !  They  have  no  prouder  triumph  to  commemo- 
rate, even  in  their  glorious  history. 

I  have  not  yet  mentioned  that  slavery,  in  its  mildest 
form,  exists  in  China;  but  the  children  of  a  slave  are 
free,  and  custom,  which  is  all-powerful  there,  requires 
a  master  to  give  up  his  servant  if  the  latter  can  repay 
the  amount  originally  paid  for  him ;  and  those  who 
own  a  woman-servant  are  expected  to  provide  a  hus- 
band for  her  when  she  becomes  of  age.  The  purchase 
of  boys  and  girls  is,  as  a  rule,  confined  to  those  who 
wish  in  this  way  to  be  provided  with  servants  who 
shall  become  part  of  the  household  and  can  be  relied 
upon.  In  no  case  can  a  master  or  mistress  require  a 
slave  to  engage  in  any  disreputable  calling  unless  the 
purpose  for  which  the  sale  is  made  is  clearly  set  forth, 
in  which  event  the  cost  is  fully  doubled.  Without 
special  provisions  in  the  bill  of  sale,  it  is  understood 
that  the  servant  is  to  perform  a  servant's  ordinary 
duties  and  to  be  fairly  treated,  and  to  be  required  to 
do  no  wrong  thing. 

The  firing  of  firecrackers  caused  me  to  speak  to  our 


136  Rowid  the   World. 

boatman  one  day,  as  I  was  annoyed  by  the  noise,  having 
ahvays  had  a  dislike  for  sudden  explosions.  "  Why 
don't  you  worship  something  good  and  beautiful,"  I 
said;  "some  god  that  would  detest  such  things  as  fire- 
crackers?" "So  we  do,"  said  he,  "in  our  hearts,  but 
this  is  not  worship  ;  it  is  sacrifice  to  the  bad  gods,  so 
they  will  be  pleased  and  do  one  no  harm."  "  But  won't 
the  good  god  be  displeased  and  do  you  harm  ?  "  "  No, 
the  good  god  would  never  harm  any  one."  His  words 
were,  as  near  as  I  can  recollect  them,  "  He  no  do  badee; 
no  can ;  always  likee  he ;  much  goodee  ;  by-by  kill  bad 
Jossee  may  be  ;  "  and  so  they  go,  good  lord,  good  devil ; 
no  saying  into  whose  hands  one  may  fall,  as  the  sailor 
had  it.  I  gave  it  up,  as  the  business  woman  came  on 
board  and  took  command,  the  husband  going  off  to  his 
work  elsewhere.  This  woman  Susan — Black-eyed  Susan, 
as  we  have  dubbed  her — and  her  bright  young  sister-in- 
law  continue  to  interest  us  more  and  more,  they  are 
such  active,  intelligent  women.  The  girl  is  orna- 
mented with  bangles  and  heavy  anklets,  and  her  ear- 
rings are  of  blue-bird  feathers;  her  hair  is  banged,  and 
everything  about  her  evinces  the  care  of  really  good, 
respectable  people.  I  told  Susan  if  I  were  a  boatman 
I  should  try  hard  to  save  money  enough  to  buy  her 
sister-in-law,  and  asked  her  price.  "  No  sellee  you ; 
sellee  goodee  Chinaman  two  hundred  dollars."  This 
was  said  as  a  great  boast,  as  the  ordinary  price  for  one 
in  her  station  is  only  ninety  dollars.     Our  guide  turned 


Mission  Hospitals.  137 

up  his  lip  in  scorn  and  whispered  to  me,  "She  talkee 
with  mouthee  too  muchee  ;  ninety  dollar  plenty."  Per- 
haps he  had  his  eye  upon  the  maid  for  his  son.  If  so,  I 
put  in  a  good  word  for  her,  telling  him  I  was  reputed 
one  of  the  best  judges  of  young  ladies  in  America,  that 
I  could  tell  their  qualities  at  a  glance,  and  that  it  was 
certain  she  would  make  an  excellent  wife ;  and,  what  I 
thought  would  weigh  as  much  with  him,  I  added  that 
for  a  business  woman  who  could  please  travellers  and 
get  lots  of  money  I  did  not  believe  she  had  her  equal 
in  Canton.  One  always  likes  to  help  on  a  match  when 
he  can,  and  something  may  come  of  this;  who  knows? 
I  wish  to  bear  my  testimony  to  the  grand  work  which 
is  going  forward  at  various  places  in  China  by  means  of 
the  medical  departments  of  missions.  There  are  four 
teen  hospitals  of  this  kind  in  the  country,  and  patients 
from  all  parts  flock  to  them.  In  diseases  of  the  eye  un- 
usual success  seems  to  have  been  achieved,  and  stories 
are  told  of  mandarins  almost  blind  who  have  been  re- 
stored  to  sight ;  and  in  dealing  with  cutaneous  disorders, 
which  are  very  common,  the  doctors  have  also  done 
wonders,  A  small  mission  hospital  established  in  the 
Island  of  Formosa  only  a  few  years  ago  has  already 
treated  ten  thousand  patients,  and  I  am  informed  that 
the  Canton  establishment  numbers  its  beneficiaries  by 
the  hundred  thousand.  Whatever  objection  the  people 
make  to  missionaries,  doctors  are  ever  welcome,  and  re- 
garded as  benefactors.     Nor  must  we   forget  that  the 


138  Round  the   World. 

entire  credit  of  this  indisputably  grand  work  is  wholly 
due  to  those  who  consider  it  a  sacred  duty  to  endeavor 
to  force  their  religious  views  upon  the  consideration  of 
the  Chinese.  One  can  hardly  find  terms  strong  enough 
to  speak  fitly  of  the  good  missions  are  performing  in 
this  department  of  their  labors ;  and  while  upon  this 
subject  we  should  remember  that  it  is  also  to  mission- 
aries alone  we  owe  almost  all  we  know  of  China  and  its 
literature.  Even  Confucius  was  given  to  the  world  in 
English  by  a  missionary.  I  take  special  pleasure  in 
saying  all  I  justly  can  for  those  who  are  so  universally 
decried  throughout  the  East.  With  scarcely  an  excep- 
tion— indeed  I  do  not  remember  one — every  European 
or  American  engaged  in  the  East  speaks  disparagingly 
of  missionaries  and  their  labors.  I  believe,  myself,  that 
trying  to  force  religious  views  upon  those  who  only  tol- 
erate them  because  the  cannon  stands  behind  ready  to 
support  the  preaching  is  not  the  better  way,  and  that 
many  more  converts  would  be  made  by  "  the  word 
spoken  in  season  "  by  ministers  of  the  European  con- 
gregations now  scattered  throughout  the  East,  and  by 
doctors  and  others  with  whom  the  natives  are  daily 
brought  in  contact,  if  the  paid  propaganda  were  with- 
drawn ;  but  this  should  not  prevent  us  from  crediting 
the  missionaries  with  the  collateral  advantages  which 
are  now  flowing  from  another  branch  of  their  efforts. 
They  are  on  the  right  track  now  ;  the  M.D.  is  the  best 
pioneer  of  the  D.D.     There  is  another  powerful  lever  at 


Tea  in  China,  139 

work  in  the  Herald,  a  weekly  paper  published  in 
Shanghai  and  distributed  throughout  the  Empire.  It  is 
obtaining  an  immense  circulation.  It  gives  each  week 
an  epitome  of  the  most  important  events  occurring  in 
every  country,  and  America,  I  saw,  headed  the  list.  A 
Mr.  Allen,  formerly  connected  with  missions,  is  the  pub- 
lisher, and  he  is  probably  doing  more  to  revolutionize 
China  than  all  others  combined. 

China,  as  everybody  knows,  grows  a  great  deal  of 
tea,  but  few  are  aware  how  great  a  proportion  of  this 
indispensable  article  she  produces,  and  how  much  of  it 
she  uses  herself.  Here  are  the  figures  I  see  printed : 
Total  production  of  the  world,  1,300,000  net  tons; 
China's  portion,  1,150,000  tons,  being  about  nine  times 
more  than  all  the  world  beside.  But  what  is  more 
wonderful  is  that  China  uses  1,000,000  tons  per  annum, 
and  exports  only  150,000  tons.  But  every  one  in 
China,  upon  all  occasions,  partakes  of  the  cup  which 
cheers  and  does  not  inebriate.  Neither  sugar  nor 
cream  is  used  in  it  ;  a  little  tea  is  placed  in  the  cup  and 
boiling  water  poured  over  it  and  it  is  drunk  immediately. 
The  strength  of  the  tea  is  drawn  in  a  few  moments 
after  the  water  is  poured  upon  it.  The  coloring  matter 
leaves  it  later.  It  is  therefore  a  great  mistake  to  use  a 
teapot  and  allow  tea  to  remain  in  it,  and  equally  to  use 
either  sugar  or  cream — at  least  such  is  the  verdict  of 
those  here  who  should  know  best.  We  quite  agreed 
with   them,  and    recommend    our  readers    to    try  the 


140  Round  the   World. 

Chinese  plan,  always  provided  they  are  so  fortunate  as 
to  have  a  good  sound  article  of  pleasant  flavor.  With 
most  of  the  tea  found  in  England,  and  especially  so  with 
that  generally  used  in  America,  the  sugar  and  cream 
are  no  doubt  necessary  to  drown  the  "  twang."  A 
Chinaman  would  put  this  practice  on  a  par  with  put- 
ting sug-ar  in  Chateau  Lafitte.  Tea  is  the  wine  of  the 
Celestial.  A  mandarin  will  "  talk "  it  to  you  as  a 
gourmet  talks  wine  with  us  ;  dilate  upon  its  quality  and 
flavor,  for  the  grades  are  innumerable,  and  taste  and  sip 
and  sip  and  taste  as  your  winebibber  does — and  smack 
his  lips  too.  We  are  told  of  teas  so  delicate  in  flavor 
that  fifty  miles  of  transportation  spoils  them. 

It  is  popularly  supposed  that  a  small-footed  woman 
must  be  one  of  rank,  but  this  is  an  error.  It  is  a  matter 
of  family  ambition,  even  among  the  poor,  to  have  in  the 
family  at  least  one  such  deformity.  Gentlemen  marry 
only  small-footed  women,  and  their  child  might  make  a 
good  match.  If  large-footed,  this  would  be  impossible ; 
but  such  hopes  are  sometimes  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment, or  after  marriage  reverses  may  ensue ;  and  so  it 
happens  that  many  small  feet  stamp  about  in  poverty 
and  try  to  eke  out  a  living  under  disadvantages  from 
which  their  less  genteel  neighbors  are  free.  The  most 
remarkable  feature  in  the  streets  is  the  total  absence  of 
w^omen  of  any  class  except  such  as  drudge  alongside  of 
men,  and  even  these  are  not  numerous,  for  man  appears 
to  monopolize  most  of  the  work,  at  least  in  the  cities. 


Female  Seclusion.  141 

Occasionally  we  pass  a  sedan  chair,  or  one  passes  us, 
closely  covered  up,  which  no  doubt  contains  a  lady  of 
position  compelled  to  visit  some  temple  or  relative; 
but  I  do  not  recall  seeing  in  China  any  woman  in  a  cos- 
tume above  that  of  the  working  classes,  so  jealously  do 
Chinamen  sentence  their  ladies  to  seclusion,  A  curious 
illustration  of  this  occurred  on  our  passage  out.  On 
our  ship  was  one  of  the  leading  Chinese  merchants  of 
San  Francisco  with  his  wife.  Rather  than  have  her 
seen,  even  among  the  few  cabin  passengers,  he  en- 
gaged a  portion  of  the  steerage,  had  it  closely  boarded 
up  and  confined  her  in  it,  and  she  was  never  seen  by  any 
of  us  during  the  entire  voyage.  He  and  she  took  their 
meals  together  in  the  box.  It  was  said  that  now  and 
then  at  night  she  was  carried  secretly  on  deck  for  a 
breath  of  air ;  of  course  with  her  small  feet  she  could 
not  walk. 

The  steerage  had  to  be  fumigated  at  intervals  and 
every  soul  was  ordered  on  deck  before  the  process  began. 
This  necessity  had  evidently  not  been  taken  into  ac- 
count by  the  exclusives,  and  much  difficulty  did  our 
good  doctor  encounter  with  them.  The  husband  de- 
clared that  rather  than  be  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  the 
crowd,  his  wife  would  run  the  risk  of  being  fumi- 
gated to  death.  The  operation  was  postponed  until  a 
small  cabin  could  be  provided  and  the  veiled  beauty 
taken  secretly  to  it. 

A  Chinese  woman  in  China  would  hold  it  disgraceful 


142  Round  the   World. 

to  expose  her  face  to  a  strange  man.  Queen  Victoria, 
sober,  sage  matron  and  pink  of  propriety  as  she  is  re- 
puted, would  not  consider  a  lady  properly  dressed  for 
her  levee — where  the  more  strange  men  to  gaze  the 
better — who  did  not  expose  her  face  and  neck  and 
shoulders  to  full  view.  Education,  my  boy,  education ! 
all  things  right  and  all  things  wrong  within  a  very  wide 
range  of  affairs.  Chinese  women  pinch  the  feet,  ours 
pinch  the  waist,  and  each  pities  the  other  for  their  wo- 
ful  lack  of  knowledge  and  their  wickedness  in  marring 
God's  image — and  for  their  bad  taste,  which  is,  I  fear, 
equally  heinous  to  the  female  mind. 

Our  visit  to  the  Celestial  Empire  is  now  at  an  end. 
We  sail  at  noon  by  the  French  mail  steamer  Pie  Ho  for 
Singapore,  fourteen  hundred  miles  south.  The  more 
we  see  of  China  the  greater  it  grows.  A  country  much 
larger  than  the  United  States,  with  eight  times  the 
population,  and  not  one  mile  of  telegraph  or  railroad 
in  it,  in  many  districts  not  even  one  mile  of  public  road 
broad  enough  for  anything  wider  than  a  wheelbarrow — 
and  yet  a  reading  and  writing  people,  a  race  of  ac- 
knowledged mental  power,  with  a  form  of  settled 
government  the  oldest  in  the  world — how  inconsistent 
all  this  seems  to  us !  But  the  reason  for  this  paradoxical 
condition  of  affairs  is,  I  think,  that  the  unequalled  re- 
sources of  the  country,  which  give  to  the  people  every 
necessary  of  life  and  almost  every  luxury,  encouraged 
them  in  early  days  to  eschew  intercourse  with  the  poorer 


Chinese  Isolation.  143 

lands  around  them,  and  then  their  superiority  as  a  race 
to  all  their  neighbors  led  them  quite  justifiably  to  con- 
clude that  all  beyond  were  outside  barbarians.  They 
rested  content  with  the  advanced  position  attained,  and 
as  each  successive  generation  copied  the  past,  change 
became  foreign  to  their  whole  nature,  and  in  this  path 
they  have  stubbornly  persisted  until  the  once  inferior 
races  of  the  West  have  far  outstripped  them.  Among 
these  outside  barbarians  must  be  ranked  our  noble 
selves,  for  it  isn't  one  thousand  years,  let  alone  two, 
since  our  ancestors  were  running  about  dressed  in  skins 
and  eating  raw  flesh — perhaps  eating  each  other,  as 
some  allege — as  ignorant  of  their  A  B  C's  as  of  the 
theory  of  evolution  or  the  nebular  hypothesis,  when 
these  Chinese  were  printing  books  and  sailing  ships  by 
the  compass.  If  my  English  readers  will  not  be  too 
greatly  startled  at  the  illustration,  I  will  suggest  that 
the  conduct  of  China  and  its  results  suggest  a  danger 
for  them  which  their  statesmen  should  not  be  slow  to 
perceive  and  remedy.  England  once  stood  as  much  in 
advance  of  other  Western  nations  as  China  did  in  com- 
parison with  other  lands,  and  she  has  apparently  rested 
till  now  with  equal  complacency  in  the  belief  of  her 
superiority.  It  is  fast  passing  away.  The  English- 
speaking  race  throughout  the  world  no  longer  looks  to 
the  parent  land  for  political  guidance,  for  instance, 
where  Britain  once  reigned  supreme.  What  English- 
speaking  community  would  now  study  her  antiquated 


144  Rou7id  the   World. 

political  devices,  her  throne,  her  church  and  state,  her 
primogeniture  and  entail,  her  hereditary  chamber,  un- 
equal representation,  or  lack  of  representation  rather, 
except  that  they  might  surely  learn  how  to  avoid  them ! 
Over  the  day  when  all  English-speaking  people  turned 
instinctively  to  my  native  land  for  political  example 
"  Ichabod"  must  be  written.  They  now  look  elsewhere, 
follow  other  ideals,  and  have  adopted  other  ideas  of 
government  and  the  rights  of  man. 

It  is  not  too  late  yet,  however,  for  England  to  re- 
gain her  proper  place  in  the  race  if  she  will  only  wake 
up,  rub  her  dear  old  eyes,  and  see  what  the  youngsters 
are  about.  "  There  is  life  in  the  old  dog  yet."  The 
world  is  not  done  with  the  glorious  little  island, 
nor  the  island  done  with  the  world  either.  But  no  na- 
tion can  indulge  in  a  very  long  sleep  in  these  days  of 
progress  the  world  over.     England  must  remember, 

"  To  have  done,  is  to  hang 
Quite  out  of  fashion,  Hke  a  rusty  mail 
In  monumental  mockery," 

Recent  events  have  undoubtedly  awakened  the  fore- 
most minds  of  China  to  the  fact  that  they  have  been 
asleep,  not  twenty  years  only  like  our  Rip,  but  twenty 
generations.  They  have  recently  begun  to  build  steam- 
ships, a  line  of  telegraph  is  authorized,  postage  stamps 
are  being  printed,  and,  best  of  all,  for  our  comfort,  at 
the  principal  cities  there  is  generally  at  least  one  dealer 


Chinese  Students.  145 

who  adheres  to  fixed  prices  for  his  goods.  A  daily 
paper  is  now  published  in  Chinese  at  Shanghai,  and  the 
English  school  there  is  well  patronized.  All  these 
things  convince  me  that  at  last  Western  civilization  is 
making  an  impression.  The  inert  mass  begins  to  move, 
and  China  will  march  forward  ere  long.  The  most  con- 
vincing proof  of  this  is  found,  perhaps,  in  the  fact  that 
the  government  appropriated  in  1872  nearly  two  millions 
of  dollars  to  maintain  a  hundred  and  fifty  students  in 
the  United  States.  These  are  to  be  educated  in  our 
colleges  and  afterward  employed  officially  at  home.  No 
action  could  prove  more  conclusively  that  China  is  at 
last  awakening  from  her  long  centuries  of  repose. 

But  without  railroads  the  material  resources  of  the 
country  can  never  be  thoroughly  developed.  I  fear 
this  will  be  among  the  last  features  of  our  civilization 
which  China  will  adopt,  although  the  most  important 
for  her  progress,  because,  as  before  mentioned,  a  raihvay 
cannot  be  built  without  desecrating  graves  by  the  thou- 
sand, and  this  every  true  Chinaman  would  view  with 
horror.  Our  guide,  although  a  remarkably  intelligent 
man,  and  favorable  to  improvements  of  all  kinds,  took 
his  stand  here,  inflexibly  opposing  the  introduction  of 
railways.  No  matter  what  material  advantages  might 
accrue,  nor  how  much  money  he  might  be  offered,  no 
earthly  consideration  would  induce  him  to  disturb  his 
ancestors,  who  have  lain  in  one  place  in  uninterrupted 
succession  for  nearly  seven  hundred  years.  If  my 
10 


146  Rotind  the   World. 

friends  Messrs.  Garrison,  Field  and  Pullman,  who 
have  so  skilfully  managed  to  give  us  elevated  rail- 
roads without  disturbing  proprietary  rights  below, 
wish  to  enhance  their  fame,  let  them  ask  a  concession 
in  the  Celestial  Empire  for  railroads  "  topside,"  guaran- 
teed to  dodge  every  grave,  and  I  do  not  doubt  their 
success.  Such  inborn  superstition  as  is  here  depicted 
dies  hard,  but  it  must  pass  away  with  the  spread  of 
knowledge  ;  it  will,  however,  take  time.  Nevertheless, 
China  has  a  great  future  before  it,  as  it  has  had  a  great 
past,  and  instead  of  having  passed  her  climacteric,  I  pre- 
dict that  she  is  destined  to  reach  a  position  of  para- 
mount importance  in  the  Eastern  world. 


Tuesday,  December  26. 

The  Pie  Ho  is  a  magnificent  ship,  and  we  are  de- 
lighted at  getting  under  the  auspices  of  a  French  cook 
once  more,  after  the  experiences  we  have  had  in  Chinese 
cooker}^  No  doubt  about  the  preeminence  of  the 
French  in  regard  to  human  food.  Whoever  sends  the 
raw  material,  the  French  send  the  cooks.  The  table 
d'hote,  now  common  in  England  at  the  hotels,  and  the 
French  service  found  in  private  houses,  all  so  very  dif- 
ferent from  the  practice  even  since  I  began  to  revisit 
England,  show  how  rapidly  the  world  is  bowing  to  the 
French  cuisine. 

We    are   scudding   along  before  the  monsoon,  the 


Cochin  China,  147 

temperature  that  of  June,  an  agreeable  change  from 
Hong  Kong,  where  the  nights  have  been  chilly.  We 
are  out  of  the  region  of  cold  weather  now  for  the  re- 
mainder of  our  travels.  We  reached  Saigon,  the  capital 
of  the  French  settlement  in  Cochin  China,  at  six  this 
morning,  after  sailing  forty  miles  up  a  branch  of  the 
Cambodia.  Lower  Cochin  China  belongs  to  France,  and 
is  under  the  rule  of  a  colonial  governor,  French  troops 
being  scattered  through  the  provinces.  It  is  a  low-lying 
district,  celebrated  only  for  growing  more  rice  than  any 
other  part  of  the  world.  Our  ship  took  on  large  quan- 
tities of  it  for  France,  but  this  is  exceptional,  the  scarc- 
ity of  freights  being  everywhere  so  great  that  steamers 
are  glad  to  get  anything  to  carry.  The  Saigonites  are 
the  lowest  specimens  of  humanity  we  have  yet  seen — 
miserable,  sickly-looking  creatures,  and  without  the 
faintest  regard  for  cleanliness.  Their  long,  coarse  black 
hair  hangs  over  their  shoulders  in  thick,  tangled  masses 
which  apparently  have  never  known  a  comb.  Every 
one  chews  the  betel-nut  without  intermission,  young 
and  old  alike,  and  this  so  discolors  the  teeth  and  mouth 
as  to  render  them  extremely  disgusting.  We  drove 
about  the  town  for  a  few  hours,  but  it  was  so  hot  we 
were  compelled  to  return  to  the  ship.  This  is  the  God- 
forsaken-looking region  about  which  France  is  now  dis- 
puting with  China.  I  cannot  but  wish  that  every  deputy 
had  been  with  me  during  the  few  days  of  my  visit,  that 
he  might  see  what  kind  of  a  land  and  what  sort  of  hu- 


148  Rotmd  the   World. 

man  beings  his  country  expected  to  derive  credit  from 
by  superintending. 

What  I  have  said  previous  to  the  foregoing  para- 
graph was  written  on  the  spot,  and  therefore  I  cannot 
be  accused  of  being  prejudiced  by  the  recent  action  of 
France,  which  has  caused  me,  as  its  well-wisher,  much  sin- 
cere regret.  Any  power  acquired  by  France  over  this 
portion  of  the  world  can  be  but  illusory — wholly  so.  The 
importance  even  of  Saigon  is  so  small  that  it  offers  no 
inducement  to  any  of  the  regular  steamers  to  call  as  they 
pass.  The  French  line  alone  visits  it  under  a  subven- 
tion from  the  home  government.  A  few  poor  French 
people  manage  to  exist  after  a  fashion  by  trading  with 
the  ignorant  natives,  and  a  few  soldiers  and  a  ship-of- 
war  give  some  semblance  of  French  authority.  But 
just  as  certain  as  the  sun  shines,  should  any  consider- 
able commerce  arise  in  Cochin  China,  the  English 
will  absorb  nine-tenths  of  it,  and  this  by  a  law  from 
which  there  is  no  escape. 

When  the  French  people  forced  the  government  to 
withdraw  from  Egypt  they  gave  us  reason  to  hope 
that  Herbert  Spencer's  law,  which  creates  pacific  prin- 
ciples in  proportion  that  power  is  held  by  the  masses, 
had  received  a  significant  vindication.  Let  us  hope 
the  republican  element  will  ere  long  put  its  veto  upon 
foolish  interference  in  Tonquin. 

The  night  we  spent  at  Saigon  the  French  governor 
gave  a  grand  ball,  five  hundred  invitations ;   but  out  of 


Cotton  Goods    Trade.  149 

all  this  number  how  many  ladies,  think  you  ?  Society 
here  musters  but  thirty-five,  mammas  and  grandmam- 
mas included,  and  only  three  young  ladies.  Think  of 
it,  ye  belles  of  Cresson,  Newport  and  Saratoga  (Cresson 
first,  Mr.  Printer,  is  quite  correct)  !  fifteen  officers  in 
dazzling  uniforms  for  every  lady  ! 

We  have  on  board  several  English  merchants  and 
one  American,  who  are  taking  a  run  home  for  a  visit. 
The  latter  regrets  that  his  countrymen  should  be  in- 
duced to  drink  green  tea  abominations,  and  I  console 
him  by  stating  that  a  reform  is  surely  near  at  hand. 
These  gentlemen  agree  that  the  American  cotton  goods 
are  taking  the  market  and  driving  the  adulterated 
English  goods  out.  The  trade  is  increasing  so  fast  that 
it  was  welcome  intelligence  for  them  to  be  advised  by 
the  last  mail  that  another  large  mill  in  Massachusetts 
was  being  altered  to  make  exclusively  Chinese  goods.  I 
congratulate  my  friend  Edward  Atkinson  upon  this  re- 
sult. But  is  this  new  business  to  be  permanent  ?  I 
think  not.  The  day  is  far  distant,  I  hope,  when  either 
labor  or  capital  in  America  will  have  to  be  content 
with  the  return  obtained  in  a  populous  country  like 
Britain  ;  and  unless  we  have  superior  natural  advantages 
we  cannot  hope  to  compete  with  her.  In  cotton  manu- 
facture for  the  East  we  have  not  any  advantage,  as  I  find 
that  the  cheapest  way  of  reaching  China  from  New 
York  is  to  ship  via  London.  England  can  bring  the  raw 
cotton  from  New  Orleans  or  New  York,  and  send  the 


150  Round  the   World, 

manufactured  goods  to  market  for  certainly  not  more 
than  the  cost  of  transportation  from  the  American  mills 
to  market,  and  therefore  England  can  retain  that  trade 
whenever  she  adopts  the  latest  improvements  in  mode 
of  manufacture  ;  and  this  she  is  as  certain  to  do  as  the 
sun  shines,  and  probably  to  improve  upon  them. 


Wednesday,  January  i,  1879. 

The  clock  strikes  twelve.  Good-bye,  1878;  and 
you,  1879,  all  "tidXW  Be  as  kind  to  us  as  the  departed, 
and  we  shall  in  turn  bless  your  memory.  This  mid- 
night hour  of  all  the  hours  of  the  year  is  reputed  the 
best  for  framing  good  resolutions,  but  somehow  those  I 
have  tried  at  this  season  hitherto  have  not  been  excep- 
tionally fortunate  in  bearing  good  fruit.  However,  I 
have  never  "  resolved  "  on  a  New-Year's  night  before 
while  suffering  from  heat  and  mosquitoes.  I  conclude 
to  haz-ard  one,  so  here  goes  antipodal  resolution  No.  i. 
See  what  you  are  good  for.  I  record  it  that  it  may  be 
the  more  deeply  impressed  upon  my  mind,  and,  if  a 
failure,  that  it  may  in  print  sternly  stare  me  in  the  face, 
and  not  "  down  at  my  bidding." 

To-day  we  make  our  first  acquaintance  with  punkas. 
They  extend  throughout  the  cabin,  ominous  of  hot 
weather,  which  I  detest ;  Vandy,  on  the  other  hand,  rev- 
els in  it,  and  it  is  his  turn  now.  Vandy  handed  me  to- 
day a  string  of  Cambodia  money,  sixty  pieces,  which 
cost  only  two  cents,  showing  to  what  fractions  they  re- 


Coin  Collecting.  151 

duce  exchanges  in  Cochin  China.  I  have  been  careful 
to  collect  coins  in  every  place  visited.  Sock  No.  i  is 
now  full,  and  I  have  had  to  start  bag  No.  2.  I  have 
some  rare  specimens ;  of  Japan  the  set  is  complete,  from 
the  gold  cobang,  worth  $115,  oblong,  five  inches  long  by 
about  three  wide,  down  to  the  smallest  copper  piece.  I 
have  some  Chinese  coins  shaped  like  a  St.  Andrew's 
cross,  dating  before  Christ.  The  mania  for  coin  collect- 
ing is  another  inherent  tendency  the  presence  of  which 
has  probably  never  been  suspected  in  my  disposition. 
But  collecting  the  coin  of  the  realm,  when  one  thinks  of 
it,  isn't  at  all  foreign  to  my  tastes.  The  form  of  mani- 
festation is  different,  that's  all — old  coin  for  new — the 
"ruling  love,"  to  use  a  Swedenborgianism,  being  the 
same;  and  the  ruling  love  must  be  acted  out,  so  Aunt 
tells  me,  even  in  heaven.     "  Oh ! "  said  L.,  when  she 

heard  this,  "  I  wonder  what  they'll  get  for  Mr. to  do 

in  the  other  world  ;  there  are  no  dollars  and  cents  there; 
but  there  will  be  the  golden  harps  for  him  to  trim  and 
weigh."  So  he  would  still  handle  the  siller,  and  be  in 
his  element.  Some  time  afterward,  when  this  was  re- 
called to  L.,  she  declared  that  it  was  impossible  that 

she  could  have  said  it.     "Mr.  trim   and   weigh! 

He  would  never  be  satisfied  unless  he  were  boiling  it 
down  solid.'* 


Singapore,  Saturday,  January  4. 
We  reached  Singapore  at  dusk.     The  drive  through 
the  town  was  a  curious  one.     Nowhere  else  can  such  a 


152  Round  the   World. 

mixture  of  races  be  seen,  and  each  nationality  was  en- 
joying itself  in  its  own  peculiar  fashion — all  except  the 
Chinese,  who  were,  as  usual,  hard  at  work  in  their  little 
dens.  No  recreation  for  this  people.  Work,  work, 
work !  They  never  play,  never  smile,  but  plod  away, 
from  early  morning  until  late  at  night.  The  Chinaman's 
objection  to  giving  his  creditor  in  New  York  a  note  was 
because  it  "walkee,  walkee  alle  timee  ;  walkee,  walkee, 
no  sleepee."  They  seem  to  me  to  emulate  these  objec- 
tionable obligations. 

We  saw  in  Singapore  our  first  lot  of  Hindoos, 
moving  about  the  streets  like  ghosts,  wrapped  in  webs 
of  thin  white  cotton  cloth,  which  scissors,  needle,  or 
thread  have  never  defiled.  The  cloth  must  remain  just 
as  it  came  from  the  loom  ;  no  hat,  no  shoes,  their  fore- 
heads chalked,  or  painted  in  red  with  the  stamp  of  the 
god  they  worship  and  the  caste  to  which  they  belong. 
They  are  a  small,  slight  race,  with  fine,  delicate 
features. 

I  went  out  for  a  stroll  before  retiring,  and  hearing  a 
great  noise  up  the  street,  followed  and  came  up  with  a 
Hindoo  procession.  The  god  was  being  paraded 
through  the  Hindoo  portion  of  the  town  amid  the  beat- 
ing of  drums  and  blowing  of  squeaking  trumpets.  The 
idol  was  seated  in  a  finely  decorated  temple  upon  wheels, 
drawn  by  devotees,  many  of  whom  danced  wildly 
around,  while  others  bore  torches  aloft,  making  alto- 
gether a  very  gorgeous  display.  Priests  stood  at  each  side 


Singapore.  153 

performing  mysterious  rites  as  the  cortege  proceeded. 
It  was  my  first  siglit  of  an  idolatrous  procession,  and  it 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  me,  carrying  me  back  to 
Sunday-school  days,  and  the  terrible  car  of  Juggernaut 
and  all  its  horrors. 

I  have  had  many  experiences  in  beds,  from  the  gen- 
erous feather  cover  of  the  Germans  to  the  canopy  of 
state  couch  of  England,  but  to-night  my  couch  was 
minus  covering  of  any  kind.  Calling  to  Vandy,  I  found 
he  was  in  the  same  predicament.  Each  had  instead  a 
long,  stiff  bolster  lying  lengthwise  in  the  middle  of  the 
mattress,  the  use  of  which  neither  of  us  could  make 
out.  We  soon  discovered  that  there  was  no  need  of 
covering  at  the  Equator  ;  but  this  bolster  must  have 
some  use,  if  we  could  only  find  it.  Upon  inquiring  next 
day  we  ascertained  that  it  is  composed  of  a  kind  of  pith 
which  has  the  property  of  keeping  cool  in  the  hottest 
weather,  and  that  it  is  the  greatest  relief  at  night 
to  cultivate  the  closest  possible  acquaintance  with 
this  strange  bed-fellow ;  in  fact,  in  Singapore,  "  no 
family  should  be  without  it." 

The  island  of  Singapore,  which  is  included  in  the 
British  Straits  Settlements,  is  nearly  seventy  miles  in  cir- 
cumference, with  a  population  of  about  one  hundred 
thousand,  one-half  of  which  is  Chinese,  the  remainder 
Malays,  Klings,  Javanese,  Hindoos,  and  every  other 
Eastern  race  under  the  sun,  I  believe,  and  a  few  Euro- 
peans.    Here   the    "survival   of  the  fittest"   is   being 


154  Round  the   World. 

fought  out  under  the  protection  of  the  British  flag, 
which  insures  peace  and  order  wherever  it  floats.  In 
this  struggle  we  have  no  hesitation  in  backing  the 
Heathen  Chinee  against  the  field.  Permanent  occupa- 
tion by  any  Western  race  is  of  course  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. An  Englishman  would  inevitably  cease  to  be  an 
Englishman  in  a  few,  a  very  few,  generations,  and  it  is 
therefore  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  Chinese  will 
drive  every  other  race  to  the  wall.  No  race  can  possibly 
stand  against  them  anywhere  in  the  East. 

On  Sunday,  Major  Studer,  United  States  Consul, 
and  his  accomplished  daughter,  drove  us  to  the  house 
and  gardens  of  the  leading  Chinese  merchant  of  this 
region,  Mr.  Wampoo,  who  received  and  entertained  us 
with  great  cordiality.  His  residence  is  extensive  and 
filled  in  every  part  with  curios ;  but  his  gardens  are 
most  celebrated,  and  far  surpass  anything  of  the 
kind  we  have  yet  seen.  His  collection  of  Victoria 
Regia  plants  is  said  to  be  the  best  in  the  world.  Un- 
fortunately none  were  in  bloom,  but  a  flower  was  due, 
I  understood,  in  about  ten  years !  The  kind  old  gen- 
tleman invited  us  back  to  see  it,  and  we  accepted ;  but 
since  writing  this  we  have  heard,  alas!  that  he  has 
ceased  to  play  his  part  upon  earth. 

The  newspapers  here  sometimes  give  strange  local 
items.     Here  is  one  from  yesterday's  Times: 

"Tigers  must  be  increasing  on  the  island  ;  a  fine  big  male  one 
was  caught  in  a  pit  on  Christmas  eve  at  the  water-works." 


Equato7'ial  Vegetation.  155 

The  fellow  was  probably  on  the  track  of  a  Christmas 
dinner,  and  ventured  to  the  very  suburbs  of  the  town. 

We  were  driven  one  day,  by  the  major  and  Miss 
Studer,  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  in  the  interior,  passing 
through  groves  of  cocoa  and  betel-nut  trees,  both  in  full 
bearing,  to  a  tapioca  plantation,  where  we  saw  many 
trees  and  plants  new  to  us — the  fan  and  sago  palms 
and  many  other  varieties,  bananas,  nutmeg  trees,  bread 
fruit,  durion,  gutta-percha  trees  and  others.  We  also 
saw  the  indigo  plant  under  cultivation,  and  passed 
through  fields  of  the  sensitive  plant  as  we  walked 
about,  while  pine-apples  were  everywhere.  We  are  in  a 
new  world  of  vegetation  here,  within  a  degree  of  the 
Equator ;  but,  rich  as  it  is,  there  is  still  a  feeling  of  dis- 
appointment because  it  is  all  green — no  bright  hues,  no 
coloring,  such  as  gives  Florida  its  charm,  or  lends  to  an 
American  forest  in  autumn  its  unrivalled  glory !  It  is 
always  summer,  and  the  moisture  of  the  tropics  keeps 
everything  green.  There  is  another  cause  of  disap- 
pointment to  one  accustomed  to  the  primeval  forest 
and  its  majestic  trees.  These  monarchs  cannot  develop 
themselves  in  the  tropics,  and  in  their  stead  we  have 
only  underbrush,  the  ''jungle"  of  the  tiger,  which  does 
not  at  all  come  up  to  one's  expectations. 

About  one  thousand  men  and  women  are  employed 
upon  this  tapioca  plantation.  Married  Hindoos  get 
twenty  cents  per  day,  but  the  greater  number  are 
Javanese  unmarried  men,  who  get  only  sixteen  cents ; 


156  Round  the   World. 

both  find  themselves.  The  Javanese  are  Mohamme- 
dans from  Java  en  route  to  Mecca  as  a  religious  duty. 
They  come  here  and  work  and  save  for  two  years  to 
get  sufficient  to  pay  their  passage  and  return  to  this 
point,  when  they  work  a  year  more  for  funds  to  carry 
them  home.  How  vital  is  the  creed  which  brings  its 
adherents  to  such  sacrifice  !  This  drive  gave  us  an 
excellent  opportunity  of  seeing  just  how  the  people  live 
in  the  country.  Dress  is  confined  to  the  rag  worn  about 
the  loins,  except  that  the  women  wear  in  addition  a  small 
cloth  over  their  shoulders.  The  children  wear  nothing 
whatever,  but  we  saw  none  that  were  not  ornamented 
by  cheap  jewelry  in  the  most  extraordinary  manner. 

The  subject  of  clothes,  as  we  all  know  from  the 
days  of  "  Sartor  Resartus,"  lies  very  closely  at  the 
roots  of  civilization.  I  think  every  thoughtful  person 
must  admit  that  here  the  Heathen  Chinee  shows 
that  he  has  reached  the  best  solution  of  that  annoying 
question.  The  every-day  dress  of  the  Chinaman 
is  to-day  just  what  it  was  thousands  of  years  ago. 
As  there  is  no  going  out  or  coming  in  of  fashion, 
he  wears  his  clothes  till  they  can  be  worn  no  longer. 
The  heavy  overcoats  which  distress  Americans  and  are 
a  weight  even  to  the  Englishman,  our  celestial  friend 
escapes  by  having  three  or  four  light  coats  all  of  one 
pattern  and  weight.  It  is  a  one,  two,  or  a  three-coat 
day,  according  to  temperature.  Again  and  above  all  he 
escapes  the  horrid   starch  entirely,   neither  shirts  nor 


A  Protest  against  Starch.  157 

collars  nor  cuffs,  sometimes  like  thin  sheets  of  iron, 
irritating  his  skin. 

Vandy  and  I  seriously  resolved  to-day  that  we 
would  never  again  tolerate  a  starched  thing  about  us ; 
no  matter  what  others  did,  we  would  discard  the  vile  cus- 
tom and  be  free.  In  revising  this  I  am  bound  to  admit 
our  weakness :  neither  Vandy  nor  I  have  been  strong 
enough  to  contend  against  our  mothers.  I  don't  know 
exactly  what  Vandy's  experience  was,  but  I  know  he 
fell  soon  after  our  return.  For  my  part  I  fought  it  out 
awhile  and  tried  many  ways  to  win  ;  but  my  flannel  and 
frieze  underwear  which  I  brought  from  China  soon  be- 
came unwearable,  I  was  informed,  from  shrinkage,  then 
they  had  broken  into  holes,  and  so  on.  They  were 
finally  missed  from  my  wardrobe,  and  I  compromised 
by  stipulating  that  I  should  return  to  the  shirt  and  col- 
lars and  cuffs,  and  agreed  they  might  be  all  pure  white 
— provided  that  little  or  no  starch  should  be  used — ■ 
this  is  an  improvement,  but  linen  is  the  most  uncom- 
fortable material  known,  used  as  we  use  it. 

Vandy  and  I  when  in  the  East  reduced  the  time  for 
bathing  and  dressing  in  the  morning  to  seven  minutes. 
Of  course,  we  have  long  since  given  up  the  folly  of  shav- 
ing. How  one  envies  the  man  of  the  East  who  has  but 
four  articles  to  slip  on,  and  no  pins  required :  socks  and 
low  shoes  (no  lacing),  one ;  breeches,  two;  undershirt, 
three ;  coat,  four ;  and  there  he  is,  ready  for  breakfast. 
The  coat  buttons  close  to  the  chin,  and  has  a  small  up- 


158  Round  the   World. 

right  collar,  and  a  watch-pocket  outside ;  no  cuffs, 
collars  or  neckties.  Why  does  not  some  born  reformer 
of  our  sex  devote  his  life  to  giving  his  fellow  man  such 
additional  happiness  in  life?  Hundreds  waste  their 
energies  upon  objects  which,  if  accomplished,  would 
not  be  half  as  fruitful. 

Here  is  a  description  of  a  woman's  jewelry,  as  taken 
from  life  by  Vandy  :  lobes  of  ears  pierced  with  holes 
large  enough  to  allow  one's  thumb  to  be  inserted ; 
above  these  holes  two  small  gold-color  rivets  in  each 
ear ;  in  each  nostril  two  gold  pendants,  inserted  by 
screwing  in  ;  through  the  centre  of  the  nose  a  large  sil- 
ver ring ;  on  each  wrist  four  bracelets ;  higher  up  the 
arm  more  rings  ;  around  her  neck  a  necklace  ;  around 
each  ankle  a  large  silver  ring ;  and  around  her  big  toe 
and  the  next,  on  both  feet,  were  rings.  The  small- 
est children  wore  many  similar  jewels.  Upon  these 
every  penny  they  can  save  is  squandered,  and  to  secure 
them  they  are  content  to  live  on  a  little  boiled  rice  and 
fish — a  bamboo  hut  of  one  apartment  their  only  home, 
and  a  piece  of  cotton  cloth  their  wardrobe. 

We  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting,  at  Major  Studer's, 
Mr.  Hornaday,  a  young  gentleman  who  travels  for  Pro- 
fessor Ward,  of  Rochester,  New  York,  whose  museum 
is  well  known  the  world  over.  Mr.  Hornaday's  depart- 
ment is  to  keep  the  Professor's  collections  complete,  and 
if  there  be  a  rare  bird,  beast,  or  reptile  on  the  globe,  he 
is  bound  to  capture  specimens.     He  had  just  returned 


A   Cziriosity  Hunter.  159 

from  spending  four  months  among  the  savages  of 
Borneo,  where  alone  a  supply  of  orang-outangs  could  be 
obtained.  He  returned  with  forty-two  of  these  links, 
shot  mostly  by  himself.  He  came  one  day  upon  two 
very  young  ones,  and  these  he  has  brought  here  alive. 
They  are  suggestively  human  in  their  ways,  and  two 
better-behaved,  more  affectionate  babies  are  rarely  to  be 
met  with.  Let  no  anti-Darwinian  study  young  orang- 
outangs if  he  wishes  to  retain  his  present  notions.  The 
museum,  Mr.  Hornaday  is  advised,  is  now  short  of  du- 
gongs,  and  he  is  off  for  Australia  next  steamer  to  lay  in 
a  supply.  The  recital  of  his  adventures  is  extremely 
interesting,  and  I  predict  that  some  day  a  book  from 
him  will  have  a  great  run. 

What  an  interest  is  awakened  by  one  who  is  able  to 
tell  stories  of  his  own  experience  !  No  wonder  that 
Othello  won  Desdemona  with  the  recital  of  his  advent- 
ures. He  was  the  hero  who  had  been  the  actor  in  all 
the  scenes  he  depicted.  Listening  to  Mr.  Hornaday 
was  a  source  of  rare  pleasure  to-night.  His  chief  regret 
is  that  he  missed,  during  his  visit  to  Borneo,  the  largest 
mias  ever  seen  on  the  island.  The  natives  discovered  a 
troop,  all  of  which  made  off  except  the  leader.  He 
showed  fight,  but  soon  ran  up  a  high  tree,  from  which 
the  native  weapons  were  unable  to  dislodge  him.  He 
was  beyond  their  reach  and  there  he  sat.  It  was  re- 
solved to  cut  down  the  tree  and  capture  him  as  he  fell ; 
but  as  soon  as  they  came  to  close  quarters  with  the 


i6o  Round  the   World, 

monster,  he  proved  so  powerful,  fierce,  and  courageous 
that  the  natives  ran  away  and  he  got  off. 

Mr.  Hornaday  reached  the  spot  just  too  late.  "  Why 
didn't  you  send  for  me  ?  Didn't  you  know  my  rifle 
would  have  reached  him?"  he  asked.  They  gave  him 
no  reason  for  their  conduct,  but  he  suspected  that  they 
feared  he  would  not  have  paid  them  had  he  made  the 
capture.  Mr.  Hornaday  is  confident  this  mias  exceeded 
the  height  stated  by  Wallace  as  the  maximum. 

Mr.  Hornaday  was  more  successful  with  the  largest 
tiger  shot  in  India  for  years.  He  was  out  after  chee- 
tahs, and  having  no  more  expectation  of  meeting  with 
the  nobler  game  than  of  encountering  a  lion,  had  not 
his  tiger  rifle  with  him.  On  coming  to  the  banks  of  a 
small  stream  he  was  greatly  surprised  to  see  a  tiger's 
fresh  footmarks — a  big  foot,  too.  Making  a  sign  to  his 
attendants  to  stand  motionless,  he  glanced  up  the 
stream,  then  down,  and  saw,  not  far  from  him,  leisurely 
strolling  along  the  edge  of  the  creek,  seeking  a  con- 
venient ford,  the  largest  tiger  he  had  ever  laid  eyes 
upon,  although  he  had  shot  many.  "  Shall  I  shoot  with 
this  gun  ?"  he  thought.  "  If  I  miss  he  will  certainly  be 
upon  us.  He  will  attack  one  of  my  colored  attendants 
first,  anyhow,  and  I'll  get  a  chance  to  reload.  I'll  do 
it !  "  A  moment  after,  the  monster,  having  found  a  ford 
to  his  liking,  turned  his  head  and  looked  cautiously 
down  stream  before  entering  the  water.  Finding  all 
quiet  in  that  direction,  he  turned  to  glance  up  stream. 


Tiger  Shooting.  i6i 

For  this  moment  Mr.  Hornaday  had  waited.  There  is 
one  spot  only  to  hit  a  tiger — right  between  the  eyes. 
He  fired  and  the  beast  fell.  No  other  shot  was  fired, 
for  holes  spoil  a  skin.  The  animal  writhed  for  several 
hours,  no  one  daring  to  approach  him,  until  he  finally 
sank  exhausted  upon  the  sand.  I  think  it  was  fifteen 
pounds  Mr.  Hornaday  received  from  Government  for 
this  exploit.  I  have  secured  the  skin  of  this  very  beast, 
properly  preserved,  full  head,  open  mouth,  glaring  eye- 
balls, and  all,  and  I  am  ready  to  match  tiger  skins  with 
any  one. 

In  the  absence  of  other  commercial  intelligence,  I 
may  quote  the  market  in  Mr.  Hornaday 's  line :  Tigers 
are  still  reported  "  lively  ;  "  orang-outangs  "  looking 
up  ; "  pythons  show  but  little  animation  at  this  season 
of  the  year  ;  proboscis  monkeys,  on  the  other  hand,  con- 
tinue scarce  ;  there  is  quite  a  run  on  lions,  and  kangaroos 
are  jumped  at  with  avidity ;  elephants  heavy ;  birds  of 
paradise  drooping;  crocodiles  are  snapped  up  as  offered, 
while  dugongs  bring  large  prices.  What  is  pig  metal 
to  this? 

The  climate  of  Singapore,  as  of  all  places  so  near  the 

Equator,  would  be  intolerable  but  for  the  dense  clouds 

which  obscure  the  sun  and  save  us  from  its  fierce  rays ; 

but  occasionally  it  breaks  through  for  a  few  minutes, 

and  we  are  in  a  bath  of  perspiration  before  we  know  it. 

No  one  can  estimate  the  difference  in  the  power  of  the 

sun  here  as  compared  with  it  in  New  York.     Straw  hats 
II 


1 62  Round  the  World. 

afford  no  protection  whatever;  we  are  compelled  to  wear 
thick  white  helmets  of  pith,  and  use  a  white  umbrella 
lined  with  green  cloth,  and  yet  can  walk  only  a  few 
steps  when  the  sun  is  not  hid  without  feeling  that  we 
must  seek  the  shade.  The  horses  are  unable  to  go  more 
than  ten  miles  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  our  carriage 
and  pair  are  hired  with  the  understanding  that  this  is 
not  to  be  exceeded.  Nothing  could  exist  near  the  line 
if  the  intense  heat  did  not  cause  evaporation  upon  a 
gigantic  scale.  The  clouds  so  formed  are  driven  upward 
by  the  streams  of  colder  air  from  both  sides,  condensa- 
tion then  takes  place,  and  showers  fall  every  few  hours 
in  the  region  of  Singapore. 

One  is  not  only  in  a  new  earth  here,  but-  he  has  a  new 
sky  as  well.  As  the  tropics  have  nothing  to  compare 
with  our  more  brilliant  colors  in  the  vegetable  world,  so 
the  southern  sky  has  no  stars  to  equal  ours.  Indeed, 
with  the  exception  of  the  four  in  the  Southern  Cross, 
two  in  the  Centaur,  and  two  or  three  others,  there  is  no 
star  of  the  first  magnitude  to  be  seen,  and  the  constel- 
lations are  poor  compared  with  those  of  our  splendid 
northern  skies.     Shakespeare's 

"  *  *  *  inlaid  with  patines  of  bright  gold," 

must  seem  hyperbole  to  the  Australian.  I  saw  the 
Southern  Cross  many  nights  while  at  sea,  and  it  is  cer- 
tainly very  fine,  as  far  as  four  stars  can  make  a  cross ; 
for,  as  usual,  much  is  left  to  the  imagination.    It  is  really 


Baby  O^'ang-Outangs.  i6'' 


o 


not  a  cross  at  all.  These  long  ocean  trips  furnish  the 
best  opportunity  for  observing  the  stars>  and  I  have 
rubbed  up  my  early  knowledge  on  the  subject  so  far  as 
to  be  able  to  point  out  all  the  constellations  and  many 
of  the  principal  stars ;  but  away  down  here  the  North 
Star  even  is  not  to  be  seen,  and  we  have  to  steer  by 
Orion's  belt  if  the  compass  varies. 


Tuesday,  January  14. 

We  left  Singapore  to-day  at  three  P.M.  by  the  Eng- 
lish mail  steamer  Teheran,  parting  with  very  sincere  re- 
gret from  Major  and  Miss  Studer,  to  whom  we  had  been 
so  much  indebted  for  our  week's  happiness.  These 
partings  from  kind  friends  on  our  way  round  the  world 
are  the  sad  incidents  of  the  trip.  People  are  so  kind, 
and  they  do  so  much  to  render  our  stay  agreeable,  that 
we  become  warmly  attached,  and  have  many  excursions 
planned,  when  some  morning  up  goes  the  flag,  boom 
goes  the  signal  gun,  "  Mail  steamer  arrived  !  "  all  aboard 
at  sunset !  and  farewell,  friends!  We  see  them  linger  on 
the  pier  as  we  sail  away,  good-byes  are  waved,  and  we 
fade  from  each  other's  sight ;  but  it  will  be  long  ere 
many  faces  vanish  from  our  memory. 

While  still  gazing  Singaporeward  I  am  recalled  to 
the  stern  duties  of  life.  These  two  baby  orang-outangs 
I  told  you  of  are  going  to  a  naturalist  in  Madras.  What 
a  present !  and  Vandy  and  I  have  promised  to  do  what 
we  can    in   the  way  of    attendance   upon  them.     The 


164  Round  the   World, 

butcher  comes  to  ask  me  when  they  are  to  be  fed,  and 
how,  and  what.  This  is  a  poser.  I  am  not  up  in  the 
management  of  orang-outangs,  but  Vandy  has  skill  in 
almost  everything  of  this  kind ;  at  least  he  is  safer  than 
I,  there  being  a  good  deal  of  the  incipient  doctor  about 
Vandy,  and  I  search  for  him  in  this  emergency.  The 
fact  is,  while  I  have  had  varied  experiences  in  the  mat- 
ter of  delicate  charges  of  many  kinds,  these  have  gener- 
ally been  of  our  own  species — a  youngster  to  be  taken 
home  to  his  parents,  a  dowager  lady  afraid  of  the  cars — 
even  a  blushing  damsel  to  be  transported  across  the 
Atlantic  to  the  arms  of  her  _;f«;/^/ has  been  intrusted  to 
me  before  this,  but  this  charge  is  decidedly  out  of  my 
line.  These  fearfully  human-looking,  human-acting 
brutes  furnish  much  amusement  to  the  passengers  ;  but 
at  first  every  lady  whom  we  took  forward  to  watch 
them  was  compelled  to  run  away  laughing  and  exclaim- 
ing, "  Oh,  they  are  so  much  like  babies!  It's  just  hor- 
rid to  see  these  nasty,  hairy  things  carry  on  so  !"  Con- 
firmation strong,  I  suppose,  of  our  kinship,  so  do  not 
let  us  neglect  our  poor  relations  even  if  the  connec- 
tion be  somewhat  remote.  Bananas  are  their  favorite 
delicacy,  but  this  morning  not  even  that  fruit  could  tempt 
them.  I  gave  one  to  the  smaller  of  the  two,  but  it 
would  not  take  it.  Then  I  tried  the  larger  one.  He 
took  it  in  his  paw,  peeled  it  at  one  end  and  put  it  to 
his  lips,  then  looking  up  at  me  with  a  sad,  puzzled  ex- 
pression, dropped    his   prize,  and    resting  his  head  on 


Penan g.  165 

his  paw  laid  slowly  down  on  the  straw,  telling  us  all 
as  plainly  as  could  be  that  he  was  sea-sick.  Such  was 
indeed  the  case  ;  but  in  a  few  hours  the  sea  fell  and 
he  was  as  sprightly  as  ever.  Monkeys  move  spas- 
modically, by  jerks  as  it  were ;  not  so  these  dignified, 
stately  creatures :  they  are  as  deliberate  in  all  their 
actions  as  staid,  sober  people.  One  day  a  passenger 
had  offered  a  banana  to  the  little  one,  but  as  it  put 
forth  its  paw,  withdrew  it.  The  wee  thing  stood  this 
several  times,  and  at  last  laid  down  on  its  face  and 
cried  like  a  child — a  wicked  cry  ;  nor  would  it  be  com- 
forted, the  banana  when  offered  being  petulantly  re- 
jected.    They  are  much  too  human. 

We  called  at  Penang,  an  island  on  the  western  shore 
of  the  Peninsula,  also  belonging  to  Great  Britain,  and 
had  time  to  drive  around  the  settlement.  The  place  is 
not  to  be  compared  to  Singapore  in  size,  but  vegeta- 
tion is  even  more  luxuriant.  It  was  very  hot,  and  we 
envied  the  governor  his  residence  on  a  mountain  peak 
eighteen  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  where,  it  was  re- 
ported, fires  are  actually  required  at  some  seasons  night 
and  morning.  Penang  exports  large  quantities  of  tin, 
and  we  took  on  a  lot  for  New  York.  This  valuable  pro- 
duction seems  about  the  only  metal  America  has  now 
to  import,  but  some  lucky  explorer  is  no  doubt  destined 
to  find  it  in  immense  quantities  by  and  by.  Having 
got  everything  else,  it  doesn't  stand  to  reason  that 
America  should  not  be  favored  with  this  also.    Nothing 


1 66  Round  the   World. 

unusual  occurred  upon  our  run  across  the  Bay  of  Ben- 
gal. Even  Vandy  enjoyed  the  sea  voyage  this  time ; 
something  he  had  never  before  done  in  his  life,  nor  ever 
done  since.  It  was  smooth  and  quiet  steaming  all  the 
way  to  Ceylon.  I  had  been  humming  "  Greenland's  Icy 
Mountains  "  for  several  days  previously,  about  all  that 
I  knew  of  Ceylon's  isle  being  contained  in  one  of  the 
verses  of  that  hymn,  which  I  used  to  sing  at  missionary 
meetings,  when  a  minister  who  had  seen  the  heathen 
was  stared  at  as  a  prodigy. 

And  indeed  the  "  spicy  breezes  blew  soft  o'er  Cey- 
lon's isle  "  as  we  approached  it  in  the  moonlight.  We 
found  Galle  quite  a  pretty,  quaint  little  port,  and  re- 
mained there  one  night,  taking  the  coach  next  morning 
for  Colombo,  the  capital.  The  drive  of  sixty  miles  to 
the  railway  which  extends  to  Colombo,  seventeen  miles 
beyond,  is  one  of  the  best  treats  we  have  yet  had.  The 
road  is  equal  to  one  of  our  best  park  avenues,  as  indeed 
are  all  the  roads  we  saw  in  Ceylon  ;  from  end  to  end  it 
skirts  the  rocky  shores,  passing  through  groves  of  cocoa 
and  betel-nut  trees,  and  dotted  on  each  side  by  the  huts 
of  nativ^es  at  work  at  some  branch  of  the  cocoanut  busi- 
ness. Every  part  of  the  nut  is  utilized  ;  ropes  and  mats 
are  made  from  the  covering  of  the  shell,  oil  from  the 
kernel,  and  the  milk  is  drank  fresh  at  every  meal.  These 
trees  do  not  thrive  except  near  the  coast,  the  salt  air 
laden  with  moisture  being  essential  for  their  growth, 
but  they  grow  quite  down  to  the  edge  of  the  sea.     The 


Ceylonese  Costume.  167 

natives  have  been  attracted  to  this  main  road,  and  from 
Galle  to  Colombo  it  is  almost  one  continuous  village  ; 
there  is  no  prettier  sea-shore  in  the  world,  nor  a  more 
beautiful  surf.  Every  few  miles  we  come  upon  large 
numbers  of  fishermen  drawing  in  their  nets,  which  are 
excessively  long  and  take  in  several  acres  of  sea  in  their 
sweep.  An  artist  who  would  come  to  Ceylon  and  de- 
vote himself  to  depicting  "  the  fishers  of  Ceylon's  isle  " 
(how  well  that  sounds !  and  a  good  title  is  half  the  bat- 
tle) would  make  a  reputation  and  a  fortune.  I  am  quite 
sure  there  is  no  more  picturesque  sight  than  the  draw- 
ing of  their  nets,  several  hundred  men  being  engaged  in 
the  labor,  while  the  beach  is  alive  with  women  and 
children  in  bright  colors  anxiously  watching  the  result. 
The  dress  of  the  Ceylonese  women  is  really  pretty  : 
a  skirt  closely  fitting  the  figure,  and  a  tight  jacket  over 
the  shoulders — all  of  fine,  pure  white  cotton  cloth  or 
muslin  and  quite  plain,  with  neither  frill,  tuck,  flounce, 
nor  anything  of  the  kind.  Necklaces  and  ear-rings  are 
worn,  but  I  am  glad  to  say  the  nose  in  Ceylon  seems 
to  be  preserved  from  the  indignity  of  rings.  The 
men's  dress  is  rather  scanty,  their  weakness  being  a 
large  tortoise-shell  comb,  which  every  one  wears  ;  it 
reaches  from  ear  to  ear,  and  the  hair  is  combed  straight 
back  and  confined  by  it.  Women  are  denied  this  crown- 
ing ornament,  and  must  content  themselves  with  a  pin 
in  the  hair,  the  head  of  which,  however,  is  highly  orna- 
mented.    The  Buddhist  priests  form  a  strange  contrast 


1 68  Round  the    World. 

in  their  dress,  which  consists  of  a  yellow  plaid,  gener- 
ally of  silk,  wrapped  around  the  body  and  over  the 
shoulders. 

I  asked  our  Ceylonese  guide  to-day  whether  he  had 
ever  heard  of  our  most  popular  missionary  hymn. 
"  Here   is   the   verse,"  I    said,   "  about    your   beautiful 

isle  " : 

"  What  though  the  spicy  breezes 

Blow  soft  o'er  Ceylon's  isle, 
Though  every  prospect  pleases, 

And  only  man  is  vile  ! 
In  vain  with  lavish  kindness, 

The  gifts  of  God  are  strewn  ; 
The  heathen,  in  his  blindness, 

Bows  down  to  wood  and  stone." 

"What  do  you  think  of  that  description?"  I  asked. 
He  said  he  thought  "  the  writer  was  a  fool,"  and  asked 
if  any  one  in  my  country  believed  that  there  was  a  man, 
woman,  or  child  in  Ceylon  who  did  not  know  better 
than  to  bow  down  to  any  power  but  God.  "Yes,"  I 
said,  "  I  once  believed  it  myself,  and  millions  believe  it 
to-day,  and  good  boys  and  girls  with  us  save  their  pen- 
nies to  send  missionaries  to  tell  these  heathen  who 
worship  idols  how  very  wrong  and  foolish  it  is  to  do  so, 
and  how  very  angry  the  true  God  is  to  have  anything 
worshipped  but  himself."  He  said  ours  must  be  a  very 
curious  country,  and  he  should  like  to  visit  it  and  see 
such  queer  people.  I  gave  him  my  address  and  prom- 
ised, if  he  would  come  to  see  me,  to  take  him  to  a  great 


Buddhism,  1 69 

missionary  meeting  where  he  would  see  the  best  and 
most  rehgious  people,  all  greatly  concerned  about  the 
idolaters  of  Ceylon. 

The  truth  is  there  is  scarcely  in  all  the  world  a  hu- 
man being  so  low  in  the  scale  as  not  to  know  that  the 
object  he  sees  is  only  the  symbol  of  the  invisible  power. 
What  the  cross  is  to  the  Christian  the  idol  is  to  the 
other,  and  it  is  nothing  more.  The  worship  of  both  is 
to  the  Unknown  beyond.  I  did  my  best  to  soothe  the 
wounded  spirit  of  our  guide  by  explaining  the  necessi- 
ties of  poetic  license.  Still  he  would  have  it  that 
Bishop  Heber  had  wronged  his  beloved  Ceylon  and 
did  not  know  what  he  was  writing  about. 

The  religion  of  Ceylon  is  Buddhism;  indeed  it  is 
now  the  most  strictly  Buddhist  country  in  the  world. 
One  condition  of  the  cession  of  the  sovereignty  to  Great 
Britain  was  that  this  religion  should  be  held  inviolable 
with  its  rights  and  privileges,  its  monasteries  and  tem- 
ples and  all  pertaining  thereto.  In  the  language  of  the 
greatest  European  authority,  "  although  government 
support  is  no  longer  given  to  it,  its  pure  and  simple  doc- 
trines live  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  are  the  no- 
blest monument  to  its  founder  Gautama  Buddha.  The 
taking  of  the  meanest  life  is  strictly  forbidden,  and 
falsehood,  intemperance,  dishonesty,  anger,  pride,  and 
covetousness  are  denounced  as  incompatible  with 
Buddhism,  which  enjoins  the  practice  of  chastity,  grati- 
tude, contentment,  moderation,  forgiveness  of  injuries, 


170  Round  the   World. 

patience,  and  cheerfulness."  The  priests  of  Buddha  are 
regularly  ordained  and  sworn  to  celibacy,  and  they  are 
required  to  nrieet  each  other  every  fourteen  days  for 
purposes  of  mutual  confession.  The  lowest  caste  is 
eligible  to  the  priesthood,  as  with  the  Christian  relig- 
ion. 

Ceylon  is  somewhat  smaller  than  Ireland,  and  the 
population  is  a  little  less  than  three  millions,  but  it  is 
rapidly  increasing,  as  are  its  exports  and  imports.  Of 
all  the  places  we  visited  it  seems  to  have  suffered  least 
from  the  wave  of  depression  which  has  recently  swept 
over  the  world.  This  is  undoubtedly  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  spicy  isle  enjoys  somewhat  of  a  monopoly  in 
cofTee  and  some  of  the  spices,  cinnamon  especially. 
Java  coffee  is  generally  used,  I  think,  in  America,  but 
in  Ceylon  it  is  deemed  an  inferior  article ;  Mocha,  in 
Arabia,  furnishes  the  best,  but  much  called  Mocha  is 
really  grown  here.  In  the  coffee  plantations  men  are 
paid  eighteen  cents  per  day;  women,  fourteen  cents.  A 
disease  akin  to  that  which  attacked  the  vines  in  France 
some  years  ago  has  raged  among  the  plants  for  two 
years  past ;  it  promises  this  year  to  be  less  destructive, 
although  no  effectual  cure  has  yet  been  discovered.  We 
met  several  coffee  planters,  generally  young,  pushing 
Englishmen  who  either  own  the  estates,  or  are  related 
to  those  who  do.  They  lead  a  pleasant  life  in  Cey- 
lon, the  climate  being  good  most  of  the  year,  and 
those   who    are    contented    declare    that   a   European 


Tea  and  Coffee.  171 

can  live  there  and  enjoy  as  good  health  as  at  home. 
If  the  weather  prove  too  warm  in  the  summer  there 
are  the  mountains  to  run  to.  Scientific  cultivation 
of  coffee  began  in  Ceylon  as  late  as  1824,  and  pub- 
lic attention  was  not  directed  to  it  until  1834 — only 
fifty  years  ago — yet  to-day  there  are  more  than  twelve 
hundred  coffee  plantations,  and  the  amount  of  coffee 
exported  exceeds  twenty  millions  of  dollars  per  annum. 
Tea  cultivation  has  been  introduced  recently,  and  the 
quality  is  said  to  be  excellent.  There  cannot  be  any 
doubt  of  this,  because  it  finds  a  ready  market  here. 
None  has  been  exported.  If  it  were  not  a  remarkably 
good  article  the  foreign  would  be  preferred,  as  we  all 
know  a  domestic  article  has  a  world  of  prejudice  to 
overcome  at  first.  I  shall  watch  the  Ceylon  tea  ques- 
tion with  interest,  and  hope  that  at  some  not  distant 
day  the  production  of  tea  leaf  may  rival  that  of  the 
cofTee  bean. 

I  have  no  intention  to  enter  into  any  political  ques- 
tion— certainly  not  into  the  merits  of  Free  Trade  vs. 
Protection ;  but  I  must  own  I  was  surprised  to  find  that 
one-fifth  of  the  total  revenue  of  the  island  is  derived 
from  taxes  upon  the  daily  food  of  the  people,  two- 
thirds  of  this  from  a  tax  upon  imported  rice,  and  the 
other  third  from  native  grain. 

Ceylon  teaches  many  lessons.  The  liquor  traffic,  for 
instance,  is  managed  throughout  the  entire  island  as  a 
governmental  monopoly.     Distillation  is  restricted  to  a 


172  Round  the   World, 

few  specified  distillers  who  can  sell  their  product  at 
wholesale  in  open  market,  but  the  right  to  retail  is  re- 
stricted to  certain  taverns,  which  are  rented  year  by  year 
to  the  highest  bidders,  subject  to  stringent  conditions. 
Pure  arrack  only  can  be  sold  at  fixed  prices,  and 
lessees  are  held  to  strict  account  for  drunkenness  and 
disturbances.  The  liquor  monopoly  yields  ;^  170,000,  or 
about  one-seventh  of  the  whole  revenue,  which  in  1873 
was  ;^i,24i,558  ($6,200,000);  about  ten  shiUings  per 
head,  as  against  England's  two  pounds  and  more. 

The  main  roads  of  Ceylon  are  equal  to  those  of  Cen- 
tral Park ;  so  they  should  be,  for  their  cost  has  exceeded 
i^2,ooo  per  mile.  Ten  thousand  dollars ! — we  could  al- 
most build  a  railway  in  the  West  for  this.  However,  it 
is  not  as  much  as  it  costs  in  Britain  to  get  the  right  to 
begin  to  spend  money  on  a  railway  ;  so  we  must  congrat- 
ulate the  Ceylonese  upon  getting  a  splendid  return  for 
their  investment.  During  our  brief  sojourn  in  the  island 
(alas !  all  too  short  as  I  write  these  pages)  we  travelled 
over  every  mile  of  railway  there.  This  sounds  large  to 
one  who  judges  of  a  railway  system  by  that  of  the 
United  States — a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  miles  ; 
there  were  then  only  about  a  hundred  miles  in  all 
Ceylon — two  short  lines.  To-day  there  are  doubtless  a 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  operation,  as  the  line  under 
construction  between  Colombo  and  Galle  was  expected 
to  be  opened  in  two  years  more.  This  brings  Japan 
and    Ceylon    about    even   upon   the   railway   question, 


Kandy.  1 73 

though  the   population  of  Ceylon  is  only  about  one- 
twelfth  that  of  Japan. 


Kandy. 

A  railway  has  been  built  from  Colombo,  the  ship- 
ping port,  through  the  mountains  to  the  coffee-growing 
districts,  a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  and  this  enabled 
us  to  visit  Kandy,  more  than  1,600  feet  above  the  sea, 
and  the  summer  capital  to  which  the  government  re- 
pairs in  hot  wea-ther.  It  is  a  beautiful  little  town,  and 
gave  us  the  first  breath  of  air  with  "  ozone  "  in  it  that 
we  had  enjoyed  since  we  were  on  the  Sierras.  Our 
hotel  fronts  upon  the  square,  and  is  opposite  the 
Buddhist  Temple,  celebrated  as  the  receptacle  of  that 
precious  relic,  "the  sacred  tooth  of  Buddha."  A  former 
king  of  Ceylon  is  reputed  to  have  paid  an  immense  sum 
for  this  memento  of  the  departed.  We  were  too  near 
the  temple  for  comfort.  The  tomtom  has  to  be  beaten 
five  times  each  day,  and  as  one  of  these  is  at  sunrise,  I 
had  occasion  to  wish  the  priest  and  tooth  both  far 
enough  away.  I  wonder  the  Europeans  don't  indict  this 
tomtoming  at  unseasonable  hours  as  a  nuisance. 

The  Botanical  Gardens  here  are  rivalled  in  the  trop- 
ics by  those  in  Java  only,  and  upon  seeing  the  display 
of  luxuriant  vegetation,  we  fully  understood  how  it  had 
acquired  its  celebrity  ;  but  still  all  is  green.  The  great 
variety  of  palms,  the  bread-fruit,  banyan,  jack-fruit,  and 
others  sustain  this  reputation.     The  chocolate  tree  was 


174  Round  the   World. 

the  most  curious  to  us;  it  has  recently  been  introduced 
in  the  island,  and  promises  to  add  one  more  to  the 
list  of  luxuries  for  which  Ceylon  is  famous.  A  fine 
evidence  of  the  intelligence  of  the  Ceylon  planters  is 
seen  in  the  fact  that  the  association  employs  a  chemist 
to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  different  soils  and 
what  they  are  capable  of  producing;  under  his  supervi- 
sion various  articles  are  always  under  trial.  Recently 
Liberian  cofTee  has  been  found  to  thrive  in  low  latitudes 
unsuited  for  the  Arabian  variety,  which  requires  a 
higher  district,  thus  rendering  available  for  this  plant  a 
large  area,  which  has  hitherto  been  necessarily  devoted 
to  less  profitable  uses.  Nothing  nowadays  can  be 
thoroughly  developed  without  the  chemist's  aid,  and 
the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  our  farming  will  be  con- 
ducted under  his  instructions  as  completely  as  our  steel 
manufacture  is  now. 

Ceylon  is  noted  for  its  pearl  fisheries  and  its  supply 
of  rubies,  sapphires,  and  cats'-eyes  as  much  as  for  its 
spices ;  and  from  the  hour  the  traveller  lands  until  the 
steamer  carries  him  off  he  is  beset  with  dealers  offering 
precious  stones,  worth  hundreds  of  dollars  in  London 
or  New  York,  for  a  few  rupees ;  but  those  who  pur- 
chase no  doubt  find  their  fate  in  the  story  of  the  inno- 
cent who  bought  his  gold  cheap.  The  government 
keeps  the  pearl  fishery  grounds  under  proper  regula- 
tions, and  allows  divers  one  half  of  all  they  find,  the 
the  other  half  going  to  the  State  Treasury.     I  was  told 


Pca7'l  Fishery,  175 

the  value  of  the  pearls  found  last  year  amounted  to 
$400,000,  but  the  production  seems  to  be  falling  off.  In 
1798  the  fishery  was  rented  for  i^  142,000  ($710,000). 
Now  the  government  has  to  work  it  and  the  net  pro- 
ceeds have  never  exceeded  ;^87,ooo  in  any  year,  and 
have  fallen  as  low  as  ^7,200. 

The  government  employed  a  naturalist  to  study  the 
habits  of  the  pearl  oyster.  He  labored  for  five  years, 
but  this  time  scientific  investigation  seems  to  have 
failed  and  we  know  but  little  more  about  the  subject 
than  before.  Some  genius  will  come,  however,  to  solve 
all  questions.  Science  may  be  rebuffed  twenty  times, 
but  it  never  rests  until  the  truth  is  known.  This  much 
is  certain,  that  these  precious  oysters  leave  their  usual 
beds  for  years  together.  There  was  no  fishery  once  for 
twenty-seven  years,  from  1768  to  1796,  and  once  before 
then  it  failed  for  about  fourteen  years.  When  they  do 
visit  pretty  Ceylon,  their  main  residence  is  upon  the 
northwestern  coast,  sixteen  to  twenty  miles  from  shore. 
It  is  believed  that  the  oyster  reaches  maturity  in  its 
seventh  year,  when  the  pearl  attains  full  size  and  lustre. 
If  the  oyster  be  not  secured  then,  it  soon  dies  and  we 
lose  our  pearl.  Consider  the  number  of  these  jewels 
which  fade  away  to  their  original  elements  in  the 
depths  of  ocean :  for  one  we  get,  a  million  decom- 
posed. 

Did  the  poet  know  how  true  his  words  were  when 
he  said : 


176  Rotmd  the   World. 

"  Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene 
The  dark  unfathomed  caves  of  ocean  bear." 

The  government  brings  the  oysters  to  the  beach  and 
sells  them  to  the  highest  bidders  in  lots  of  one 
thousand.  Can  you  conceive  of  a  prettier  game  of 
chance  than  this !  Imagine  the  natives  at  work  open- 
ing the  rough  shells,  expecting  at  every  turn  to  find  a 
pearl  worth  a  fortune  ! 

The  pearl  fishers  descend  six  to  eight  fathoms  forty 
or  fifty  times  a  day,  and  can  remain  under  water  from  a 
minute  to  a  minute  and  a  half.  So  much  for  practice. 
In  the  course  of  a  million  or  hundred  million  years, 
more  or  less,  each  successive  generation  pursuing  this 
calling,  under  the  law  of  inherited  tendencies,  these 
people  might  well  return  to  the  amphibious  state  and 
give  us  an  illustration  of  evolution,  backward. 

The  pearl  oyster  is  a  large,  round  bivalve,  sometimes 
twelve  inches  in  diameter.  If  Thackeray  felt,  as  he  said 
when  he  first  tried  a  Rockaway,  as  if  he  were  swallow- 
ing a  baby,  what  would  have  been  his  impressions  if  he 
had  tickled  his  throat  with  one  of  these  monsters? 
Sometimes  a  dozen,  or  even  twenty  pearls,  are  said 
to  have  been  found  in  a  single  oyster.  I  remember 
hearing  in  China  that  a  fresh  water  mollusc  is  made  to 
grow  pearls  by  the  introduction  of  foreign  bodies 
within  the  shell.  These  produce  irritation  which  the 
shell  fish  seeks  to  allay  by  depositing  around  them  a 
layer  of  pearly   matter,    and   thus   pearls   are    formed. 


Colo7nbo.  177 

It   fs  a   fact   that   the    celebrated    Linnaeus   was  paid 
$2,500  by  the  Swedish  Government  for  a  plan  he  discov- 
ered for  doing  a  similar  thing  with  the  oyster.      He 
bored  through  the  shell  and  deposited  sand  particles 
between  it  and  the  mantle  of  fine  tissues.     It  was  not  a 
success;  but  some  day  the  race  will  produce  pearls  from 
cultivated  oyster  beds  as  we  now  get  our  eggs  from 
chickens  ;    that  is,  provided  the  coming  man  is  not  to 
regard  jewelry  of  all  kinds  as  barbaric — ''  barbaric  pearls 
and  gold  "  are  Milton's  very  words,  and  great  poets  are 
prophets.     The  tendency  is  certainly  in  that  direction. 
The  more   ignorant  the  natives,  the  more  ornamental 
jewelry  is  worn,  even  if   it   be    immense,    heavy  glass 
bracelets   from    Birmingham.      Already  one  says,  how 
simple,  how  grandly  simple  she  was,  with  her  hair  plain, 
her  ears  unpierced,  her  head  and  neck  without  a  single 
ornament,  save  only  a  rosebud  in  the  hair.     Jewels  are 
to   women   what  wine  is   to   man — not    recommended 
till  after  forty,  and  a  poor  help  at  any  age. 


Colombo,  Tuesday,  January  21. 
Ceylon  was  originally  settled  in  15 17  by  the  Portu- 
guese, who  obtained  the  right  to  erect  a  small  factory  at 
Colombo  for  purposes  of  trade.  This  soon  grew  into  a 
fort,  and  naturally  the  whole  west  coast  became  theirs. 
The  Dutch  drove  them  out  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
later,  to  be  in  turn  expelled  by  the  English  after  they 
had  occupied  the  island  for  just  about  the  same 
12 


178  Ro7ind  the   World. 

period.  As  with  all  their  colonies,  the  Dutch  left  their 
impress  upon  Ceylon.  New  industries  were  introduced, 
great  public  works  constructed,  and,  better  than  all,  the 
education  of  the  people  was  well  cared  for.  The  trade 
with  Holland  became  a  source  of  much  profit.  England 
has  been  master  since  1796,  nearly  ninety  years  now, 
and  certainly  the  work  she  has  to  show  for  the  less  than 
a  century  is  marvellous  indeed. 

The  people  are  not  yet  done  rejoicing  at  the  resto- 
ration of  their  ancient  village  institutions,  which  took 
place  in  1871.  Europeans  had  rudely  swept  these  away 
and  substituted  courts  after  their  own  fashion.  After 
many  years  trial,  they  were  seen  to  be  unsuited  for  the 
country,  and  the  ancient  village  tribunals  were  reestab- 
lished, as  I  have  said,  a  few  years  ago.  It  will  not  do 
to  conclude,  as  many  do,  that  India,  Ceylon,  and  other 
of  the  Eastern  lands,  are  left  almost  bare  of  just  laws 
and  fair  administration,  for  nothing  could  be  farther 
from  the  truth.  The  village  elders,  chosen  by  the 
people  of  Ceylon,  for  instance,  administer  laws  which 
are  the  outgrowth  of  centuries,  and  as  such  are  far 
better  adapted  to  the  real  conditions  which  exist  than 
any  other  system  of  laws,  no  matter  how  perfect,  which 
have  been  found  suitable  in  other  lands  under  condi- 
tions wholly  unlike.  Here  in  this  charming  island, 
as  indeed  throughout  all  India,  villages,  or  groups  of 
villages,  are  authorized  to  frame  rules  having  the  force 
of  laws,  and  which  natives  construe  and  administer. 


Home  Ride  in  Ceylon.  179 

T  am  amused  at  the  icrnorance  of  the  average 
Englishman  or  American  upon  Eastern  affairs.  He  is 
ahvays  amazed  when  I  tell  him  that  so  far  as  represent- 
ative institutions  are  concerned,  there  is  not  a  village  in 
India  which  is  not  farther  advanced  in  this  department 
of  politics  than  any  rural  constituency  in  Britain.  The 
American  county,  village,  district  and  township  system 
is  of  course  more  perfect  than  any  other  with  which 
I  am  acquainted,  but  the  English  is  really  about  the 
most  backward.  The  experiment  in  Ceylon  of  restoring 
the  native  system  has  been  an  unequivocal  success, 
even  beyond  the  expectations  of  its  warmest  advocates, 
and  in  addition  to  the  advantages  flowing  from  the 
native  courts,  it  is  found  that  the  village  committees 
are  beginning  to  repair  and  restore  the  ancient  tanks 
and  other  irrigation  works,  which,  under  the  curse  of 
centralized  and  foreign  authority  had  been  allowed  to 
fall  into  disuse. 

The  new  blood  of  home  rule  in  local  affairs  has 
aroused  local  patriotism  and  established  numerous 
bodies  throughout  the  country,  each  a  centre  from 
which  good  influences  radiate,  organizations  into  which 
good  impulses  flow,  to  crystallize  into  works  of  public 
utility,  while  at  the  same  time  an  esprit  de  corps  is 
created  which  must  tell  more  and  more.  Wait  till  this 
plan  is  tried  in  England  and  Scotland,  and,  above  all,  in 
unhappy  Ireland!  I  shall  never  despair  of  Ireland 
until  at  least  a  generation  has  had  such  local  institu- 


i8o  RoiLiid  the   World. 

tions  as  we  find  in  Ceylon's  Isle.  If  that  people  cannot 
develop  under  self-government,  they  deserve  to  fall 
away  and  give  place  to  a  better  race ;  but  they  will  not 
fail. 

Caste  exists  in  Ceylon,  although  it  is  not  so  strictly 
preserved  as  in  India.  Still,  every  calling  is  a  caste, 
down  to  the  scavenger.  The  several  castes  do  not 
intermarry,  nor  is  it  practicable  for  one  who  has  reaped 
great  wealth  and  has  natural  tastes  and  abilities  above 
his  caste,  to  do  in  this  small  island  what  is  readily  done 
in  India,  viz.,  emigrate  and  set  up  in  superior  style  in 
some  other  part  of  the  crowded  empire.  The  wealthiest 
native  in  Ceylon  to-day  is  a  fisherman,  and  yet  he 
cannot  gain  admittance  to  the  society  of  poorer 
natives  about  him  of  higher  caste.  If  he  were  in  India, 
and  socially  ambitious,  he  would  change  his  residence. 
I  was  told  by  several  Europeans  that  the  bonds  of  caste 
in  India  are  slowly  weakening,  and  that  when  a  wealthy 
stranger  comes  to  a  district  it  is  held  wise  not  to 
inquire  too  curiously  concerning  his  birth. 

Of  all  the  castes,  the  tiller  of  the  soil  stands  at  the 
head  in  Ceylon  ;  even  the  skilled  worker  in  iron  is  away 
below  him.  The  rural  laborer  with  us  must  be  taught 
to  hold  his  head  up.     He  is  Ai  in  Ceylon. 

The  position  held  by  Ceylon  in  ancient  days  as  the 
great  granary  of  Southern  Asia  explains  the  pre- 
cedence accorded  to  agricultural  pursuits.  Under 
native  rule  the  whole  island  was  brought  under  irriga- 


Progress  in  Ceylon,  i8i 

tion  by  means  of  artificial  lakes,  constructed  by  dams 
across  ravines,  many  of  them  of  great  extent — one, 
still  existing,  is  twenty  miles  in  circumference — but  the 
system  has  been  allowed  to  fall  into  decay.  I  am  glad 
to  know  that  government  has  resolved  to  undertake 
the  work  of  repair.  Proper  sluices  are  to  be  supplied 
to  all  the  village  tanks,  and  the  embankments  are  to  be 
raised  and  strengthened  through  the  labor  of  the  village 
communitieSo  We  may  yet  live  to  see  the  fertility  of 
the  country  restored  to  that  of  its  pristine  days. 

We  saw  the  new  breakwater  which  government 
is  constructing  here  at  great  expense.  When  finished 
it  is  proposed  that  the  Indian  steamers  shall  call  here 
instead  of  at  Galle,  the  harbor  of  which  is  dangerous. 
This  may  be  a  decided  improvement  upon  the  whole, 
but  the  tourist  who  does  not  see  pretty  Galle  and  enjoy 
the  long  day's  drive  through  the  island  to  Colombo  will 
miss  much. 

Iron  ore  exists  in  Ceylon  in  vast  deposits  and  is 
remarkably  pure,  rivalling  the  best  Swedish  grades.  It 
has  been  worked  from  remote  times,  and  native  articles 
of  iron  are  preferred  even  to-day  to  any  that  can  be 
imported.  If  cost  of  transportation  is  to  keep  growing 
less  and  less,  it  is  not  beyond  the  range  of  possibility 
that  some  day  Britain  may  import  some  of  this 
unrivalled  stone  for  special  uses.  There  are  also  quick- 
silver mines,  and  lead,  tin,  and  manganese  are  found  to 
some  extent. 


i82  Round  the   World. 

Galle,  Wednesday,  January  22. 

We  reached  here  last  night  upon  our  return,  stop- 
ping one  night  at  Colombo.  Future  travellers  will  soon 
miss  one  of  the  rarest  treats  in  Ceylon.  The  railway 
will  soon  be  completed  from  Colombo  to  Galle,  and  the 
days  of  coaching  cease  forever.  We  congratulate  our- 
selves that  our  visit  was  before  this  passed  away,  as  we 
know  of  no  drive  equal  to  that  we  have  now  enjoyed 
twice,  and  the  last  time  even  more  than  the  first. 

During  our  trip  down  yesterday  I  counted  within 
forty  miles  eleven  schools  filled  with  young  Cingalese. 
English  is  generally  taught  in  them,  and  although  at- 
tendance is  not  compulsory,  great  inducements  are  held 
out  to  parents  to  send  their  children.  The  advantages 
of  knowing  the  English  language  are  so  decided  that  I 
am  told  parents  generally  are  most  anxious  to  have  their 
children  taught.  The  school-houses  are  simple  affairs, 
consisting  only  of  white  plastered  walls  about  five  feet 
high,  with  spaces  for  entrance.  On  this  wall  rest  the 
slight  wooden  standards  which  support  the  roof  of  palm- 
leaves,  so  that  all  is  open  to  our  view  as  we  drive  past. 
The  attention  paid  to  this  vital  subject,  evidences  of 
which  are  seen  everywhere,  is  what  most  delights  us. 
In  1874  there  were  1,468  public  schools  on  the  island, 
attended  by  66,385  scholars. 

We  were  equally  delighted  to  see  numerous  medical 
dispensaries,  where  the  afflicted  natives  can  obtain  ad- 
vice and  medicine  free  of  charge.     On  several  huts  we 


Madras.  183 

saw  large  placards  denoting  the  presence  of  contagious 
disease  within.  It  is  a  great  work  that  is  going  forward 
here  under  English  rule.  By  such  means  England 
proves  her  ability  to  govern,  and  best  confirms  her  sway 
against  domestic  revolt  or  foreign  intrigues.  The  bless- 
ings of  good  government,  the  education  of  the  people, 
and  careful  attention  to  their  health  and  comfort — these 
will  be  found  the  most  effective  weapons  with  which  to 
combat  mutiny  within,  or  Russian  or  any  other  aggres- 
sion from  abroad.  From  all  we  saw  in  Ceylon  we  are 
prepared  to  put  it  forth  as  the  best  example  of  English 
government  in  the  world,  England  herself  not  excepted. 


Saturday,  January  25. 

At  ten  to-night  we  sailed  for  Madras  and  Calcutta 
by  the  English  mail  steamer  Hindostan,  and  were  lighted 
out  of  the  intricate  harbor  by  flaming  torches  displayed 
by  lines  of  natives  stationed  at  the  buoys. 

"  Flashes  of  flambeaux  looked 
Like  Demons  guarding  the  river  of  death." 

The  last  sight  of  Ceylon's  isle  revealed  the  fine  spires  of 
the  Catholic  Cathedral,  which  tower  above  the  pretty 
harbor  of  Galle. 

INDIA. 

Madras,  Tuesday,  January  28. 

We  arose  to  find  ourselves  at  anchor  in  the  open  sea 
opposite   Madras.     There   is   not   a   harbor   upon   the 


184  Round  the   World. 

whole  western  coast  of  Hindostan.  Government  is  en- 
gaged in  constructing  one,  but  it  is  slow  work,  as  the 
immense  blocks  of  concrete  used  can  be  handled  and 
laid  only  in  smooth  seas,  which  seldom  occur.  Some- 
times the  mail  steamers  find  it  impossible  to  land  pas- 
sengers or  cargo,  and  are  compelled  to  carry  both  to 
Calcutta.  The  surf  often  sweeps  over  the  top  of  the 
iron  pier,  which  is  certainly  twenty  feet  high.  Passen- 
gers are  taken  ashore  in  native  boats  twenty  feet  long 
and  five  feet  deep.  Across  the  boat,  on  small  round 
poles,  sit  ten  rowers,  five  on  each  side ;  another  man 
steers,  and  in  the  bow  stand  two  boys  prepared  to  bail 
out  the  water  which  sweeps  in  as  we  plunge  through  the 
surf.  Fortunately  the  sea  was  unusually  calm,  and  we 
had  no  difficulty  in  reaching  dry  land.  When  the  surf 
is  too  strong  for  even  these  boats  to  encounter,  natives 
communicate  with  ships  by  tying  together  three  small 
logs,  upon  which  they  manage  to  sit  and  paddle 
about,  carrying  letters  in  bags  fastened  upon  their 
heads.  As  the  solid  logs  cannot  sink,  they  are  safe  as 
long  as  they  can  cling  to  them,  and  an  upset  is  to  them 
an  occurrence  of  little  consequence.  We  saw  m-any  of 
these  curious  contrivances,  but  one  must  have  a  good 
deal  of  the  amphibious  in  his  nature,  or  full  faith  that 
he  was  not  born  to  be  drowned,  to  trust  himself  upon 
them  through  the  Madras  surf. 

India    at    last !      How    strange    everything   looks ! 
Brahmans,  Cullrees  and  Banians,  devotees  of  the  three 


Caste  in  India.  185 

different  gods,  with  foreheads  marked  to  denote  their 
status,  the  white  sandal-wood  paste  upon  the  Brah- 
man's brow.  Our  first  ghmpse  of  caste,  of  which  these 
are  the  three  main  divisions,  to  one  of  which  all  persons 
must  belong  or  be  of  the  lowest  order,  the  residuum, 
who  are  coolies.  There  are  many  subdivisions  of  these, 
and  indeed  every  trade  or  calling  constitutes  a  different 
order,  the  members  of  which  do  not  intermarry,  or  as- 
sociate, or  even  eat  with  one  another.  Generations  pur- 
suing the  same  calling,  and  only  marrying  within  them- 
selves, acquire  a  peculiar  appearance,  and  this  effectually 
creates  a  caste.  Carpenters,  masons,  merchants,  each 
are  distinct,  and  the  occupation  of  a  man  can  readily  be 
known  by  his  dress  or  manner. 

Caste !  what  is  caste  ?  whence  did  it  spring  ?  and 
what  are  its  effects  to-day  in  India?  Whatever  story  I 
tell  about  its  origin,  some  great  authority  will  flatly  con- 
tradict it.  The  beginning  of  caste,  like  that  of  most  ex- 
isting institutions,  is  lost  in  obscurity ;  but  the  most 
likely  guess  to  my  mind  is  that  which  founds  caste  upon 
this  natural  train  of  reasoning. 

Before  men  travelled  much,  when  the  race  were 
serfs  and  all  their  needs  were  supplied  by  those  imme- 
diately about  them,  it  was  almost  inevitable  that  the 
son  should  be  put  to  his  father's  handicraft.  He  could 
be  of  service  there  at  a  much  earlier  age  than  if  he  had 
to  go  to  a  stranger.  Besides,  he  had  a  chance  from  his 
infancy  to  become  familiar  with  the  work,  and  again,  his 


1 86  Round  the    World. 

father's  reputation  would  serve  a  purpose.  Therefore, 
successive  generations  remained  bakers,  smiths,  carpen- 
ters, agriculturists,  laborers,  and  eventually  this  devel- 
oped special  aptitudes  under  the  law  of  inherited 
tendencies  and  each  occupation  became  a  caste. 

Those  who  were  in  the  highest  employments  being 
the  best  educated,  they  soon  took  measures  to  secure 
their  privileges,  and  in  the  past  ages  nothing  could  rivet 
the  chains  so  effectually  as  the  sanction  of  the  gods. 
Therefore,  we  need  not  be  surprised  that  in  good  time 
a  revelation  came  to  this  effect :  "  When  man  was  di- 
vided how  many  did  they  make  him  ?  What  was  his 
mouth  ?  What  his  arms  ?  What  his  legs  and  feet  ? 
Brahma  was  his  mouth,  Kshatriya  his  arms,  Vaisya  his 
thighs,  and  Sudra  his  feet." 

This  gives  four  grand  divisions  for  the  race,  and 
their  duties  toward  the  State  and  to  each  other  are 
clearly  defined  by  the  part  of  the  "  Grand  Man  "  or 
"  God  "  from  which  they  sprang.  The  following  are  a 
few  of  the  principal  items  of  the  code  which  regulates 
these  classes :  To  the  first,  or  Brahman,  belongs  the  re- 
ligious department — he  studies  and  expounds  the  sacred 
books,  officiates  at  sacrifices,  and  is  the  recipient  of  the 
"presents"  offered  to  the  gods.  These  are  modern 
clergymen.  To  the  second,  or  Kshatriyas,  are  given  the 
war  department,  force,  and  criminal  justice.  These  are 
our  human  butchers,  the  military  class,  who  are  yet  not 
ashamed  of  the  "  profession  of  arms."     To  the  third,  or 


Caste  in  E7igland,  187 

Vaisyas,  belong  commerce  and  agriculture,  and  to  the 
poor  fourth  estate,  or  Sudras,  are  left  the  mechanical 
arts  and  service  to  the  other  castes.  The  first  three 
alone  wear  the  sacred  thread. 

The  Brahman  is  entitled  by  primogeniture  to  the 
whole  universe.  He  may  seize  the  goods  of  a  Sudra, 
and  whatever,  beyond  a  certain  amount,  the  latter  ac- 
quires by  labor  or  succession.  If  he  slanders  any  of  the 
other  castes  he  pays  only  nominal  fines  graduated  ac- 
cording to  classes.  Whatever  crime  he  may  commit  his 
personal  property  canno*-  be  injured,  but  whoever 
strikes  a  Brahman  even  with  a  blade  of  grass  becomes  an 
inferior  quadruped  for  twenty-one  generations.  He  is 
the  physician  for  men's  bodies  as  well  as  for  their  souls. 

The  one  duty  of  the  Sudra  is  to  serve  all  the  three 
superior  castes  "  without  depreciating  their  worth."  In 
administering  oaths,  a  Brahman  swears  only  by  his 
veracity — "his  honor  as  a  gentleman."  A  Kshatriya 
swears  by  his  weapons,  a  Vaisya  by  his  cattle,  while  the 
poor  Sudra  has  to  swear  by  all  the  most  frightful  penal- 
ties of  perjury. 

A  curious  survival  of  this  same  idea  lingers  in 
England,  where  the  theory  is  that  all  men  are  equal  be 
fore  the  law.  Nevertheless  members  of  the  Royal  Fam- 
ily are  still  released  from  the  suspicion  that  they  would 
not  tell  the  truth  unless  they  took  an  oath  to  do  so. 
They  are  not  required  to  take  an  oath  before  testifying 
in  court.    But  imagine  Herbert  Spencer  and  the  average 


1 88  Round  the    World. 

Prince  giving  evidence;  whose  word  would  go  the 
farther  the  wide  world  over?  Yet  the  former  would  be 
insulted  by  being  compelled  to  swear,  while  the  latter 
would  be  allowed  to  testify  upon  the  "  honor  of  a 
prince,"  a  very  scanty  foundation  as  princes  have  ever 
been  and  must  ever  be.  History  seems  to  teach  us  that 
it  has  been  difficult  to  get  this  class  to  keep  the  oaths 
they  did  take.  If  I  were  an  M.  P.,  I  would  move  that 
this  be  changed.  The  Brahman,  notwithstanding  his 
superior  station,  is  nevertheless  held  to  be  much  more 
liable  to  pollution  than  the  lower  orders,  and  is  there- 
fore required  to  bathe  more  frequently,  and  to  be  much 
more  watchful  against  the  tempter.  Our  Brahmans  at 
home  might  take  a  lesson  from  this.  A  high  authority 
has  told  us  that 

"  Life  can  be  lived  well, 
Even  in  a  palace." 

But  Burns  has  the  truth : 

"  And  certes  in  fair  Virtue's  heavenly  road 
The  cottage  leaves  the  palace  far  behind." 

I  have  given  you  the  ideal  of  caste  and  its  laws. 
Their  administration  is  a  far  different  matter.  It  is  no 
longer  possible  for  Brahmans  to  enforce  strictly  their 
claims.  Caste  crumbles  away  before  the  progress  of  the 
age.  Your  railway  is  a  "  sure  destroyer  "  of  all  branches 
of  inequality  among  men.  The  Press  a  still  greater ;  but 
ages  will  pass  ere  we  have  among  the  two  hundred  and 


The  Eastern  Christ,  189 

fifty  millions  of  Hindostan  anything  approaching  that 
degree  of  equality  and  intermarriage  of  classes  which 
even  England  possesses,  to  say  nothing  of  America. 
The  marvel  is  that  caste  took  such  root  throughout  In- 
dia apparently  in  opposition  to  the  teachings  of  Gau- 
tama Buddha.  But  it  is  scarcely  less  strange  than  that 
the  fighting  Christian  nations  found  their  system  upon 
the  teachings  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

Here  is  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Eastern  Christ :  As 
the  four  rivers  which  fall  into  the  Ganges  lose  their 
names  as  soon  as  they  mingle  their  waters  with  the 
holy  river,  so  all  who  believe  in  Buddha  cease  to  be 
Brahmans,  Kshatriyas,  Vaisyas,  and  Sudras.  The  same 
doctrine  is  beautifully  expressed  in  the  "  Light  of  Asia." 
Buddha  asks  for  a  drink  of  milk  from  a  shepherd. 

"  '  Ah,  my  Lord, 
I  cannot  give  thee,'  quoth  the  lad  ;  '  thou  seest 
I  am  a  Sudra,  and  my  touch  defiles  ! ' 
Then  the  world-honored  spoke  :  '  Pity  and  need 
Make  all  flesh  kin.     There  is  no  caste  in  blood, 
Which  runneth  of  one  hue,  nor  caste  in  tears, 
Which  trickle  salt  with  all ;  neither  comes  man 
To  birth  with  tilka-mark  stamped  on  the  brow, 
Nor  sacred  thread  on  neck.     Who  doeth  right  deeds 
Is  twice-born,  and  who  doeth  ill  deeds  vile. 
Give  me  to  drink,  my  brother.'" 

Our  friend  in  Madras  gave  us  a  rare  treat  by  driving 
us  out  to  see  the  celebrated  Madras  tigers,  for  nowhere 


IQO  Round  the   World. 

else  in  the  world  are  such  tigers  kept  as  here,  and  in- 
deed I  go  so  far  as  to  declare  that  until  one  has  seen 
these  grand  animals  he  has  no  adequate  idea  of  what  a 
tiger  is.     All  that  I  have  seen  hitherto — and  I  do  not 
forget  the  "  Zoo  "  in  London — are  but  tame   mockeries 
of  the  genuine  monster.     I  walked  up  to  a  large  cage, 
but  was  startled  by  such  a  fright.     A  tiger  was  in  an  in- 
stant flat  against  the  cage,  and  between  me  and  it  were 
only  a  few  small  iron  rods  which  rattled  like  reeds  as  he 
struck  them.     I  thought  the  whole  cage  was  in  pieces, 
and  that  beast  upon  me.     Such  glaring  eyes,  burning 
like  immense  topazes  in  his  head !  and  then  when  he 
found  himself  unable  to  get  at  his  prey,  such  a  yell ! 
but  I  was  many  feet  from  him  ere  this  came,  I  assure 
you.     He  had  sprung  from  the  back  of  his  cage  against 
the  bars,  a  distance  of  at  least  fifteen  or  eighteen  feet, 
the  moment   he  saw  me,  and   no  doubt    hurt  himself 
as  he  dashed  against  them.      The  keeper  told  us  this 
one  had    only  been    caught    a    few  months  ago.     His 
stripes  were  glossy  black,  and  his  coat  not  that  sickly 
tawny  color  we  are  so   familiar  with,  but  a  light  fiery 
brown.     Compared  with  the  tiger,  it  is  impossible  but 
that  even  the  noblest  lion  must  seem  tame  and  inert. 
We  took  no  interest  in  the  lions,  although  there  were 
some  fine  specimens.     In  the  evening  we  enjoyed  hear- 
ing the  Governor's  band  performing  on  the  beach  and 
seeing  Madras  society  congregated    there,  and  for  the 
first  time  since  we  left  America  saw  full-sized  horses 


Famine  in  India.  191 

again.  Several  gentlemen  were  riding  animals  that 
would  pass  muster  in  Central  Park.  Thus  far  we  have 
found  only  little  ponies  in  use. 

Our  races  have  never  been  brought  face  to  face  with 
famine,  but  in  India  the  masses  are  always  upon  the 
brink  of  starvation  ;  a  little  too  much,  or  too  little,  rain 
during  the  monsoon,  and  the  lives  of  millions  are  en- 
dangered. The  miserable  wretches — mere  skeletons — 
we  saw  to-day  sitting  on  the  dusty  road  sides  beseech- 
ing passers-by  for  a  pittance,  are  traces  which  still  re- 
main of  the  terrible  famine  of  the  years  1876  and  1877. 
Both  the  monsoons  of  the  former  year  failed,  and  the 
season  of  1877  was  little  better,  although  the  govern- 
ment spent  more  than  eleven  millions  sterling 
($55,000,000)  in  strenuous  efforts  to  supply  enough  food 
to  render  existence  possible.  More  than  five  million 
human  beings,  more  than  the  entire  population  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania — far  more  than  that  of  Scotland 
— were  sacrificed  from  want  and  disease  resulting  from 
the  famine  of  these  two  years.  There  is  no  doubt  about 
the  correctness  of  this  startling  statement,  for  it  is 
founded  upon  the  increased  death  rate  in  the  afiflicted 
districts. 

It  was  while  the  shadow  of  this  calamity,  unpar- 
alleled since  the  beginning  of  British  rule  in  India,  was 
over  the  land  that  the  most  gorgeous  "  durbar  "  ever 
held  in  India  was  ordered  for  the  purpose  of  gratifying 
a  whim  of  Queen  Victoria,  who  had  induced  Lord  Bea- 


192  Round  the   World. 

consfield  to  have  her  proclaimed  Empress  of  India, 
or,  as  is  far  more  probable,  which  he  had  instigated  her 
to  accept.  The  natives  who  spoke  of  this  to  us  were 
outraged  at  the  act,  and  quoted  it  as  proof  that  their 
lives  and  sufferings  were  held  as  nothing  by  England. 
This  does  England  gross  injustice,  for,  as  I  was  able  to 
tell  them,  English  opinion  was  itself  averse  to  giving 
the  Queen  a  title  in  India  which  they  could  not  be  in- 
duced to  tolerate  at  home,  and  only  acquiesce  dbecause 
Victoria  had  really  done  so  much  that  was  good  during 
her  long  reign  that  they  did  not  wish  to  deny  her  what 
she  had  unfortunately  set  her  heart  upon;  and  then 
after  all  the  poor  Queen  probably  did  not  know  about 
the  famine.  Her  books  show  that  her  interest  in  life  is 
confined  strictly  to  the  petty  details  of  her  household 
and  narrow  circle  of  satellites. 

To-day  our  Sunday-school  recollections  were  again 
aroused  by  a  sight  of  the  terrible  car  of  Juggernaut.  It 
is  really  an  immense  affair,  elaborately  carved  in  bold 
relief,  and  on  the  top  is  a  platform  for  the  priests.  I 
should  say  the  car  is  twenty-five  feet  high  and  about 
eight  by  twelve  at  the  base ;  it  has  six  wheels,  four  out- 
side and  two  in  the  centre,  the  former  nine  feet  in 
diameter  and  the  latter  six,  all  of  solid  wood  clamped 
together  with  iron  bands,  and  all  at  least  two  feet  in 
width  of  tread.  Such  a  mass,  drawn  through  the  streets 
by  elephants  and  accompanied  by  excited  devotees,  its 
hundred  bells  jangling  as  it  rolled  along  where  there  was 


Car  of  JuggernaMt.  193 

not  another  vehicle  of  any  kind  with  which  to  compare 
it,  or  a  house  more  than  one  small  story  high,  must  have 
appeared  to  the  ignorant  natives  something  akin  to  the 
supernatural ;  and  I  can  now  well  understand  how 
wretches,  working  themselves  into  a  state  of  frenzy, 
should  have  felt  impelled  to  dash  under  its  wheels.  It 
is  still  paraded  upon  certain  festival  days,  invariably 
surrounded,  however,  by  policemen,  who  keep  the 
natives  clear  of  the  wheels,  for  even  to-day,  if  they  were 
not  prevented,  its  victims  would  be  as  numerous  as  ever. 
Imagine,  if  you  can,  with  what  feelings  we  stood  and 
gazed  upon  this  car,  which  has  crushed  under  its  pon- 
derous wheels  religious  enthusiasts  by  the  thousand, 
and  which  still  retains  its  fascination  over  men  anxious  to 
be  allowed  the  glory  of  such  self-immolation,  at  the  sup- 
posed call  of  God,  who  would  be  a  fiend  if  he  desired 
such  sacrifice. 

We  left  Madras  on  Wednesday  morning,  and  had  a 
fine  smooth  sail  across  the  Bay  of  Bengal  to  Calcutta, 
the  City  of  Palaces  and  centre  of  the  British  power  in 
India.  Coming  up  the  river  we  pass  the  shipping  in  re- 
view, and  never  before  have  we  seen  so  many  large, 
magnificent  sailing  ships  in  one  port,  not  even  in  Liver- 
pool or  London.  The  trade  requires  large  clippers,  and 
these  splendid  vessels  lie  four  and  five  deep  for  two 
miles  along  the  river,  all  in  fine  trim,  flags  flying,  and 
looking  their  best.  We  pass  the  palace  of  the  old  King 
of  Oude,  who  was  brought  here  when  deposed  for  his 
13 


1^4  Round  the    World. 

misdeeds.  He  is  allowed  a  pension  of  $50,000  per 
month,  which  seems  a  great  waste  of  money,  as  it  is 
mostly  squandered  by  the  old  reprobate.  His  collection 
of  birds  and  beasts  is  a  wonderful  one,  for  he  pays  any 
price  for  animals  ;  last  month  he  paid  $12,500  for  two 
grand  tigers,  but  they  escaped  a  few  days  afterward  and 
swam  across  the  river. 

The  first  queer  thing  that  strikes  you  at  your  hotel 
is  that  two  natives  take  you  in  custody  without  even 
saying  "  by  your  leave,"  and  never  while  you  are  in  Cal- 
cutta will  you  be  able  to  get  out  of  sight  of  one  or  the 
other  of  these  officers.  One  attends  in  person  to  your 
room,  brings  you  your  tea  and  toast  at  six,  prepares 
your  bath,  takes  your  shoes  to  the  proper  "  caste  "  man 
below  (he  wouldn't  black  them  for  the  world,  bless  you  !), 
and  plays  the  valet  while  you  dress.  At  night  you  find 
him  stretched  out  across  your  door,  like  a  dog  on  the 
watch,  and  there  he  lies  all  night,  subject  to  master's 
call.  I  hurt  my  man's  feelings  one  night  by  gently 
stepping  over  his  prostrate  form  and  getting  into  my 
room  and  going  to  bed  without  his  aid.  I  turned  the 
key  when  I  got  inside,  and  not  many  moments  after  I 
heard  him  move.  Missing  the  key,  he  suspected  some- 
thing was  wrong,  and  tried  the  door  several  times  ;  but 
as  he  met  with  no  response  he  finally  gave  it  over,  and 
lay  down  to  sleep.  The  other  attendant  is  our  waiter  at 
table  and  out-door  servant.  You  find  these  people  curled 
up  and  lying  at  every  step  through  the  halls,  and  are  in 


Servants  in  India.  195 

constant  danger  of  stumbling  over  them.  Ever}'-  guest 
generally  has  two,  although  the  hotel  professes  to  keep 
an  eflficient  staff  of  its  own.  We  hear  amusing  stories 
told  of  servants  in  India,  their  duties  being  so  strictly 
defined  by  caste  that  one  must  be  kept  for  every 
trifling  duty.  Our  friend  the  Major  tells  us,  for  instance, 
that  upon  a  recent  occasion  his  wife  wished  to  send  a 
note  to  him  at  the  Fort,  a  very  short  distance  from  his 
residence.  The  proper  messenger  happening  to  have 
been  sent  elsewhere,  she  asked  the  coachman  to  please 
take  it  to  master,  but  he  explained  how  impossible  it 
would  be  for  him  to  comply,  much  as  he  wished  to  do 
so.  Persuasion  was  useless ;  but  madame  thought  of  a 
remedy — order  the  carriage.  The  grooms  prepare  and 
harness  the  horses,  the  coachman  mounts  the  box  and 
appears  at  the  door.  "  Now  drive  to  master's,  and,  at- 
tendant, deliver  this  note."  All  right.  This  brought  it 
within  the  sphere  of  his  caste.  He  is  bound  to  obey 
all  orders  connected  with  the  carriage.  Incidents  of 
this  nature  are  too  numerous  to  recount.  It  is  in  India 
that  political  economists  can  best  study  the  division  of 
labor  in  its  most  advanced  stage  of  development.  My 
friend  Mrs.  K.  kindly  gave  me  her  list  of  servants  and 
their  various  duties,  They  numbered  twenty-two,  al- 
though Mr.  K.'s  establishment  is  a  moderate  one. 

We  find  the  Zoological  Gardens  very  interesting. 
Here  we  saw  for  the  first  time  monkeys  running  about 
unfettered  among  the  trees,  and  a  lion   chained   to   a 


196  Rotcnd  the   Wo^dd. 

dog-kennel  doing  watch  duty  like  a  mastiff.  We  also 
saw  an  entire  house  devoted  to  the  display  of  pheasants. 
These  birds  make  a  fine  collection,  for  there  are  numer- 
ous varieties,  and  some  exceedingly  beautiful.  There 
are  here  two  full-grown  orang-outangs  and  one  child,  the 
former  even  more  human  than  the  pets  we  had  recently 
been  in  charge  of.  The  huge  crocodile  in  a  large  pond 
failed  to  make  his  appearance  yesterday,  and  while  we 
were  there  five  natives  with  long  poles  and  two  in  a 
small  boat  were  detailed  to  stir  him  up  and  see  what 
was  the  matter.  It  was  amusing  to  see  these  naked  at- 
tendants as  they  waded  in  a  few  feet  and  poked  about, 
ready  to  jump  back  at  every  movement  of  the  water, 
and  sometimes  frightened  at  each  other's  strokes ;  but 
all  will  agree  with  me  that  this  business  of  stirring  up 
crocodiles  at  twenty  cents  per  day  yields  no  fair  com- 
pensation for  the  risks  involved.  There  are  good  tigers 
here  also,  but  having  seen  the  tiger  of  the  world  at  Mad- 
ras, all  others  are  but  shadows.  It  is  the  same  now  with 
peacocks,  which  in  these  latitudes  are  far  superior  to 
those  with  us,  but  the  peacock  is  at  Saigon,  in  Cochin 
China,  and  we  never  see  one  without  saying,  one  to  the 
other,  "  How  poor !  "  We  are  in  a  few  days  to  see  the 
Taj,  and  I  suppose  it  will  be  the  same  as  to  buildings 
hereafter.  Even  Walter  Scott's  monument  at  Edin- 
burgh— my  favorite  piece  of  stone  and  lime — must  be 
surpassed  by  this  marvel  of  perfection. 

I  have  been   considering    whether    it   is    more  pro- 


Superlatives,  197 

ductive  of  pleasure  really  to  have  seen  or  heard  the 
admitted  best  of  everything,  beyond  which  you  can 
never  expect  to  go,  and  as  compared  with  which  you 
must  actually  hereafter  be  content  invariably  to  meet 
the  inferior,  or  whether  one  had  better,  for  the  reten- 
tion of  future  interest  in  things,  not  see  the  very  top- 
most and  unrivalled  of  each.  I  have  met  people  whose 
ears,  for  instance,  were  so  cultivated  as  to  render  it 
painful  for  them  to  listen  even  to  the  grandest  music  if 
indifferently  performed  ;  some  who  had  "  atmosphere " 
and  "  chiaro-oscuro  "  so  fully  developed  that  copies  of 
even  the  "  Madonna  di  San  Sisto  "  were  only  daubs  offen- 
sive to  the  eye ;  others  who,  having  seen  Macready  in 
Macbeth,  find  the  tragedy  stale  in  others'  hands.  Now  I 
don't  believe  this  ensues  where  the  love  of  the  art  itself 
is  genuine  ;  and  I  rejoice  to  say  that  having  once  listened 
to  an  oratorio  at  the  Handel  Festival  with  four  thou- 
sand selected  performers,  that  oratorio  becomes  forever 
a  source  of  exquisite  enjoyment,  performed  where  or 
how  it  may  be.  If  poorly  done,  the  mind  floats  up 
toward  the  region,  if  it  does  not  attain  quite  the  same 
height,  where  it  soared  at  the  perfect  recital ;  the  dis- 
tinct images  there  seen,  which  Confucius  justly  gives 
music  the  power  of  creating,  come  vividly  again  as  the 
notes  swell  forth.  The  priests  who  call  are  different, 
indeed,  but  the  gods  who  respond  are  one  and  the 
same.  So  having  seen  Janauschek  in  Lady  Macbeth,  all 
other  Lady  Macbeths  participate  in  her  quality.     Hav- 


198  Round  the    World. 

ing  almost  worshipped  Raphael's  Madonna,  all  other 
Madonnas  have  a  touch  of  her  power.  It  is  of  the  very- 
essence  of  genius  that  it  educates  one  to  find  beauty 
and  harmony  where  before  he  would  only  have  trodden 
over  barren  sands,  and  the  grand  and  poor  performances 
of  any  masterpiece  are  not  a  contrast  to  the  truly  re- 
ceptive, but  are  as  steps  leading  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest  in  the  same  temple.  Because  one  has  been  awe- 
stricken  by  Niagara's  torrent,  are  the  other  waterfalls 
of  the  world  to  be  uninteresting?  No;  to  the  man 
whose  soul  has  really  been  impressed,  every  tiny 
stream  that  tumbles  down  in  foam  is  related  to  the 
greater  wonder,  partaking  to  some  extent  of  its  beauty 
and  grandeur.  Having  seen  the  Himalayas,  are  the  more 
modest  but  not  less  dear  Alleghanies  to  lose  their 
charm  and  power  ?  Never !  Let  me  go  forward,  then, 
and  revel  without  misgivings  in  the  highest  of  human 
and  divine  creations,  as  I  may  be  privileged  to  see  or 
hear  or  know  them.  I  do  not  fear  that  I  shall  ever  be- 
come a  member  of  the  extensive  band  we  meet  in  our 
travels  who  have  become  incapable  of  enjoying  anything 
but  the  best. 

We  paid  a  visit  to  the  river  one  morning  to  see  the 
Hindoos  performing  the  sacred  rite  of  bathing,  which 
their  religion  commands.  Crowds  of  men  and  women 
enter  the  water  promiscuously  and  pray  together.  What 
a  mercy  that  Brahma  thought  of  elevating  personal 
cleanliness  to   the   rank    of  the  virtues!     What  thou- 


Wenham  Ice.  199 

sands  are  saved  every  year  in  consequence !  What  this 
crowded  hive  of  human  beings  in  hot  India  would  be- 
come without  this  custom  it  is  fearful  to  contemplate. 
I  find  our  friends  all  regretting  that  Mohammed  was  less 
imperative  upon  this  point.  His  followers  take  rather 
to  sprinkling  than  immersion,  for  dipping  hands  and 
feet  in  water  is  held  by  them  as  quite  sufificient,  and 
both  are  not  equally  efificacious  as  purifiers  in  the 
tropics,  however  they  may  be  as  religious  ceremonies. 

A  Boston  clipper  ship  was  being  unloaded  of  its 
cargo  of  Wenham  Ice  as  we  strolled  along  the  wharf 
in  the  warm  early  morning.  The  great  blocks  were 
carried  upon  the  heads  of  the  naked  Sudras,  one  at  a 
time,  and  even  at  this  early  hour  the  ice  was  melting 
fast,  the  drops  of  cool  water  forming  tiny  rills  on  the 
soiled,  dark  skins  of  the  carriers,  who  no  doubt  en- 
joyed the  rare  luxury  of  something  really  cold.  The 
exportation  of  ice  to  the  East  was  a  great  Boston  in- 
dustry at  that  time  ;  to-day  it  is  wholly  gone,  the  arti- 
ficial being  now  made  and  sold  at  every  centre  for  one- 
third  the  price  commanded  by  the  natural  product.  A 
slight  improvement  in  the  mode  of  manufacture,  and, 
presto !  here  at  the  Equator,  where  the  temperature  is 
always  at  our  summer  heat,  we  make  ice  by  the  ton  and 
are  able  to  sell  it  at  prices  which  the  poorest  population 
in  the  world  can  readily  pay.  Where  are  we  going  to 
stop  in  the  domain  of  invention? 

One  day  we  visited  the  temple  sacred  to  the  bloody 


200  Round  the   World. 

goddess  "  Kali,"  from  whom  Calcutta  derives  its  name. 
She  took  her  rise,  as  many  gods  have  done,  from  her  in- 
satiable thirst  for  human  blood.  One  powerful  giant 
alone  was  able  for  many  years  to  withstand  her  arts,  he 
being  secretly  informed  by  a  spirit  that  when  she  pur- 
sued he  had  only  to  stand  in  water,  and  if  one  drop  of 
his  blood  was  spilled,  other  giants  would  spring  forth 
and  devour  "  Kali "  herself.  This  secret  she  divined, 
however,  and  one  day  attacked  him  even  in  the  water, 
strangling  him  and  sucking  every  drop  of  his  blood  with- 
out spilling  one.  But  her  tongue  grew  so  large  and  red 
that  she  was  never  afterward  able  to  get  it  back  into  her 
mouth,  and  now  she  stands  fixed  in  this  temple,  her  big 
red  tongue  hanging  out,  a  most  revolting  sight.  So 
powerful  is  she  esteemed  that  pilgrims  to  her  shrine, 
who  have  spent  months  in  coming  hundreds  of  miles  by 
measuring  their  bodies  upon  the  dusty  ground,  are 
sometimes  seen  passing  through  the  by-lanes  of  Calcutta. 
Lying  flat,  they  mark  their  length,  rise,  and  lie  down 
again  at  this  mark,  and  go  on  this  way,  never  leaving  the 
path  day  or  night,  and  begging  food  and  water  enough 
to  sustain  them  as  they  proceed.  I  was  told  of  one  man 
who  travelled  eight  hundred  miles  in  this  manner.  Im- 
agine the  strength  of  the  superstition  which  can  so 
blind  its  dupes.  But  even  this  is  nothing  compared 
with  the  self-inflicted  torture  practised  by  many  "  who 
seek  to  merit  heaven  by  making  earth  a  hell."  It  is  not 
rare  for  fakirs  to  stand  in  postures  that  cripple  them  for 


Kali   Worship.  20i 

life.  One  elects  to  stand  on  one  foot  until  it  becomes 
impossible  for  him  ever  to  put  the  other  to  the  ground. 
Another  determines  to  raise  his  arms  to  heaven,  never 
taking  them  down.  In  a  short  time,  after  excruciating 
pain,  the  joints  stiffen  so  as  to  render  any  change  im- 
possible, and  the  arms  shrivel  until  little  but  bone  is 
left.  Some  let  their  nails  grow  into  their  flesh  and 
through  their  hands.  The  forms  of  these  penances  are 
innumerable,  and  those  who  undergo  them  are  regarded 
as  holy  men  and  are  worshipped  and  supported  by  their 
less  religious  fellows.  Kali  must  still  have  her  blood, 
and  hundreds  of  kids,  goats,  buffaloes,  and  other  animals 
are  sacrificed  daily  at  her  shrine.  We  saw  the  bloody 
work  going  forward.  Crowds  of  pilgrims,  numbering  at 
least  three  hundred  during  our  short  stay,  came  in  bands 
from  the  country  to  propitiate  the  goddess.  Each  one 
presents  an  offering  as  the  idol  is  shown.  It  is  the  most 
disgusting  object  I  have  ever  seen,  and  a  sight  of  it  would, 
I  am  sure,  frighten  children  into  crying.  The  business  is 
skilfully  managed.  A  small  dark  hall,  capable  of  hold- 
ing about  twenty-five  worshippers,  occupies  the  space 
before  the  idol.  This  is  filled  with  people  and  the  doors 
closed ;  then,  amid  the  murmurs  of  priests  and  beating 
of  gongs,  two  sliding-doors  are  drawn  aside,  and  the  hor- 
rible she-demon,  with  swollen  blood-red  tongue,  comes 
into  view  for  a  moment  only,  and  the  gifts  are  thrown 
at  her.  The  crowd  is  excited  by  fear  and  awe,  but  ere 
the  figure  can  be  closely  scrutinized  the  doors  close,  and 


202  Round  the   World. 

the  poor  ignorant  wretches  seem  stupefied  with  what 
has  been  revealed.  They  pass  slowly  out,  looking  as  if 
they  had  been  almost  blinded  with  a  glimpse  of  the  for- 
bidden mysteries,  and  another  batch  crowds  in  to  be 
similarly  worked  upon.  We  saw  other  forms  and  figures 
of  worship  too  gross  to  speak  of.  Nothing  yet  seen  can 
be  called  idolatry  when  compared  with  this,  and  I  felt 
like  giving  up  all  hope  of  improvement  in  these  people ; 
but  then  when  one  sees  the  extent  and  character  of  the 
superstitions  of  the  East  he  cannot  help  having  doubts 
of  the  advancement  or  elevation  of  the  species.  There 
is,  however,  this  consoling  knowledge,  that  the  worship- 
pers, such  young  girls  and  boys  as  we  saw  to-day  ex- 
cepted, know  that  Kali  is  but  the  symbol  of  power,  not 
the  power  itself.  Around  this  fact  the  forces  able  to 
overthrow  superstition  may  be  evolved  hereafter.  The 
germ  is  there. 

The  hundreds  of  young,  pretty,  innocent  children 
whom  we  saw  brought  to-day  to  witness  such  rites  by 
kind,  dutiful,  religious  parents — the  most  conscientious 
and  most  respectable  of  the  native  race — were  dressed 
with  as  much  care  and  pride  as  a  corresponding  number 
of  young  Christians  would  be  when  taken  to  the  rite  of 
confirmation.  How  could  I  be  otherwise  than  sad  and 
murmur,  "  Forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do."  Thus  far  is  plain  sailing,  for  every  one  will  agree 
with  me  ;  but  when  I  denounced  to  the  priests  the  pools 
of  clotted  blood  as  offensive,  even  to  coarse  men,  and 


Blood  Sacrifices.  203 

wholly  unfit  as  a  satisfactory  offering  to  any  power  to 
whom  we  can  ascribe  the  name  of  God,  they  retorted  by 
saying  this  is  also  part  of  the  Christian  system :  the  God 
of  Abraham  demands  his  sacrifice  of  blood  also.  It  is 
in  vain  to  intimate  that  this  day  is  past  and  that  our 
Father  in  heaven  no  longer  takes  delight  in  the  blood 
of  rams  or  of  bullocks.  I  shall  never  forget  the  ma- 
licious inquiry  :  "  Does  your  God  change,  then  ?  "  ''  No, 
certainly  not ;  but  our  conceptions  of  him  change  year 
by  year  as  we  gain  knowledge."  They  smile,  and  I  am 
troubled.  Let  us  pause  and  reflect  before  we  rashly 
assail  any  form  of  religion  until  we  know  that  what  we 
have  to  offer  in  its  place  is  really  free  from  the  errors 
we  mourn  over  in  others.  In  the  progress  of  the  race 
such  dreadful  conceptions  of  God  must  apparently  exist 
for  a  time.  Has  not  Herbert  Spencer  himself  assured 
us  that, 

"Speaking  generally,  the  religion  current  in  each  age  and 
among  each  people  has  been  as  near  an  approximation  to  the  truth 
as  it  was  then  and  there  possible  for  men  to  receive." 

I  needed  all  this  from  the  philosopher  to  restrain 
my  indignation  at  first  and  afterward  to  mitigate  my 
sorrow.  Even  this  was  not  quite  sufficient,  but  how 
much  an  anecdote  will  sometimes  do,  and  this  one  the 
philosopher  above  quoted  told  me  himself.  At  times, 
when  disposed  to  take  gloomy  views  of  man's  advance, 
and  sickened  by  certain  of  his  still  barbarous  beliefs  and 


204  Rouiid  the   World. 

acts,  he  had  found  relief  in  the  story  Emerson  tells  of 
himself  when  in  similar  moods.  After  attending  a 
meeting — perhaps  the  one  where  he  was  hissed  from  the 
platform  for  denouncing  human  slavery — he  walked 
home  burning  with  indignation ;  but  entering  his 
grounds,  and  wandering  among  the  green  grass  and  the 
flowers,  silently  growing  in  the  cool  moonlight,  he 
looked  up  at  the  big  trees  and  the  big  trees  looking 
down  upon  him  seemed  to  say :  "  What !  so  hot,  my 
tittle  sir!  "  Yes,  we  must  upon  our  "  distemper  sprinkle 
cool  patience."  If  all  is  not  well,  yet  all  is  coming  well. 
In  this  faith  we  find  peace.  The  endless  progress  of 
the  race  is  assured  now  that  evolution  has  come  with 
its  message  and  shed  light  where  before  there  was 
darkness,  reassuring  those  who  thought  and  who  there- 
fore doubted  most. 

General  Litchfield,  United  States  Consul,  fortunately 
accompanied  us  upon  this  visit,  and  he  knew  two  of  the 
ofificiating  priests,  who  spoke  English  perfectly.  These 
escorted  us  round  and  told  us  about  everything.  The 
history  of  these  two  natives  is  most  suggestive.  They 
were  educated  by  the  government  in  one  of  its  colleges, 
and  very  soon  saw  the  falsity  of  their  religious  tenets, 
but  failing  to  get  suitable  employment,  they  had  to 
return  to  their  families,  who  owned  a  share  in  the  Kali 
Temple,  which  is  still  profitable  property,  held  like  any 
other  building.  The  revenues  are  now  divided  among 
a  hundred  priests,  and  maintain  these  and  their  famihes, 


Tea  Ctdture  in  India.  205 

all  of  whom  are  of  the  same  family.  Should  another 
son  marry  he  becomes  entitled  to  a  certain  share,  and 
so  on.  They  carry  this  imposture  on  simply  as  a  mat- 
ter of  business,  and  laughed  at  us  when  we  said  they 
knew  it  was  all  humbug.  If  it  be  true  that  no  religion 
can  long  retain  vital  force  after  its  priests  know  it  to  be 
false,  then  there  is  hope  for  the  speedy  fall  of  idolatry 
in  India  ;  but  I  fear  there  will  be  no  lack  of  men  who 
will,  like  these  hypocrites,  continue  to  preach  what  they 
know  better  than  to  believe,  as  long  as  rich  livings  are 
at  stake. 

In  one  of  our  drives  General  Litchfield  pointed  out 
the  house  where  Macaulay  wrote  some  of  his  essays 
while  here  laying  the  foundations  of  the  law  code  which 
has  proved  such  a  boon  to  India.  I  see  one  great 
tribute  paid  to  this  monument  of  his  genius  :  the  codi- 
fication of  the  law  in  England  is  urged  forward  by 
pointing  to  the  indisputable  success  of  the  Indian  code. 

India  has  also  great  capabilities  in  regard  to  another 
article  of  the  largest  consumption — tea.  In  this  it  is 
not  improbable  she  will  some  day  rival  even  China. 
We  have  been  travelling  for  some  days  with  a  gen- 
tleman largely  interested  in  its  cultivation  in  the  Assam 
district,  and  learn  from  him  that  the  tea  grown  there 
commands  a  higher  price  than  the  Chinese  article. 
It  also  prospers  in  several  other  parts  of  India,  and  the 
amount  grown  is  increasing  rapidly.  The  total  export 
in  1878  was  34,000,000  pounds,  while  last  year,  1883,  it 


2o6  Round  the   World. 

reached,  it  is  stated,  57,000,000  pounds,  a  large  increase, 
while  the  tea  culture  in  China  is  about  at  a  stand-still, 
the  amount  exported  to  England  in  1868,  ;^ 1 1 ,000,000, 
exceeding  that  in  any  year  since.  India,  therefore 
gains  rapidly  upon  China,  and  prophets  are  not 
wanting  who  assert  that  as  India  was  the  original  home 
of  the  plant  (as  some  authorities  claim),  so  India  is 
going  to  furnish  the  world  in  future  most  of  its  tea. 
This  may  all  be  true  and  yet  the  amount  grown  in 
India  be  a  bagatelle  to  the  product  of  China,  which 
consumes  at  home  about  nine  times  the  amount 
exported.  Indian  tea  is  pure,  while  that  raised  by  both 
the  Japanese  and  Chinese  is  adulterated.  It  is  also 
much  stronger.  I  advise  all  to  give  the  Indian  tea  a 
fair  trial. 

India,  you  see,  has  great  possibilities.  She  is  dis- 
tanced in  cotton,  is  a  good  second  in  wheat,  and  has  a 
place  in  the  race  for  tea,  with  odds  in  her  favor  in  the 
latter  as  far  as  export  goes.  I  think  this  describes  her 
situation  fairly. 

There  are  very  few  really  successful  equestrian 
statues  in  the  world,  but  Calcutta  boasts  one  of  these — 
Noble's  statue  of  General  Outram.  The  artist  has 
taken  a  bold  departure,  and  instead  of  the  traditional 
eagle  glance  of  the  hero,  the  general  is  represented 
as  just  checking  his  impetuous  speed  and  casting  a  look 
behind  ;  the  body  turned  round,  and  one  hand  resting 
on  the  horse's  flank,  while  the  other  reins  in  the  horse ; 


The   Viceroy  s  Ball.  207 

his  head  bare,  as  if  in  the  attack  he  had  outrun  his 
troops,  lost  his  helmet,  and  was  stopping  a  moment  for 
them  to  overtake  him.  I  liked  this  statue  much,  and 
wished  that  some  others  of  which  I  wot  partook  of  its 
merits. 

We  attended  the  Viceroy's  ball  on  Wednesday  even- 
ing, and  enjoyed  the  brilliant  scene.  The  uniforms  of 
British  officers  as  well  as  those  of  the  Civil  Service  are 
gorgeous,  and  set  off  a  ball-room  effectively.  We  saw 
more  ladies  here  than  upon  all  other  occasions  com- 
bined during  our  travels,  and  their  general  appearance 
was  certainly  better  than  elsewhere,  showing  the 
climate  to  be  less  severe  upon  them.  Lord  Lytton  is  a 
small  man  of  unimposing  appearance,  and  entirely  des- 
titute of  style,  but  the  Commander-in-Chief,  General 
Haines,  seems  every  inch  a  soldier,  as  do  many  of  his 
subordinate  officers.  Native  princes  were  formerly 
invited  to  these  balls,  and  their  presence,  attended  by 
their  suites  in  Oriental  costumes,  added  much  to  the 
brilliancy  of  the  scene,  but  it  was  found  desirable  to 
discontinue  the  practice ;  they  could  not  partake  of 
European  refreshments  nor  understand  the  appearance 
of  women  in  public,  and  especially  their  dancing,  nor,  I 
fancy,  could  they  look  with  becoming  gravity  upon  dig- 
nitaries so  engaged,  as  they  employ  people  to  do  their 
dancing.  I  confess  it  struck  me  as  bordering  upon  the 
farcical  to  see  Lord  Lytton,  charged  with  the  gov- 
ernment  of    more    than    two    hundred    millions,   and 


2o8  Rotuid  the   World. 

General  Haines,  Commander-in-Chief,  with  an  active 
campaign  on  his  hands,  Sir  Thomas  Wade,  Her 
Majesty's  Ambassador  to  China,  and  the  Lieutenant- 
General,  all  in  uniform,  and  the  two  former  in  knee- 
breeches,  "all  of  ye  olden  time,"  doing  "forward  four 
and  turn  your  partner"  in  the  same  quadrille.  Imagine 
President  Lincoln,  Secretaries  Seward  and  Stanton,  and 
General  Grant  so  engaged. 

The  Viceroy  of  India  has  certainly  to  do  his  part  in 
the  way  of  ceremonial.  Flaming  handbills  of  an 
English  circus  announce  that  the  performances  are 
under  his  direct  patronage.  "  Victoria,  the  Empress  of 
the  Arena,"  is  to-night  to  perform  her  unparalleled 
feats  in  the  ring  in  the  presence  of  His  Excellency. 
This  was  the  only  tribute  we  saw  paid  in  India  to  Her 
Majesty's  spick-and-span  brand-new  title  of  Empress. 
We  attended  the  performance,  which  was  really  credit- 
able, but  the  natives  sat  unmoved  throughout  every 
scene  ;  so  different  from  the  conduct  of  the  Japanese, 
who  scream  with  delight  like  children  under  similar 
circumstances.  The  Indians  seem  to  take  their  pleas- 
ures sadly,  like  ourselves. 

We  did  not  fail  to  visit  the  famous  banyan  tree  of 
Calcutta,  by  far  the  largest  in  the  world.  Vandy 
and  I  started  and  paced  it  around  until  we  met,  count- 
ing three  hundred  and  thirteen  steps,  or,  say,  three  hun- 
dred yards ;  the  main  trunk  is  probably  about  thirty 
feet  in  circumference,  but  from  each  main  branch  roots 


Crematio7t.  209 

have  descended  to  the  earth  and  become  supporters  of 
these  branches,  allowing  them  to  extend  still  farther. 
In  this  way  a  branch  may  have  in  its  course  three  or 
four  supporters  at  intervals  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet ; 
the  leaves  are  thick,  and  much  resemble  those  of  the 
rubber  tree  in  size  and  character. 

We  see  numerous  native  barbers  engaged  in  shaving 
the  people.  Victim  and  operator  squat  down  in  a  cor- 
ner on  their  "  hunkers,"  facing  each  other,  and  the  opera- 
tion then  begins,  the  utensils  being  laid  out  upon  a  rag 
on  the  ground.  It  seems  the  most  unnatural  posture  in 
the  world  for  shaving  or  hair-dressing,  but  as  it  is  the 
custom  there  must  be  some  advantages  in  it  which  we 
cannot  even  guess. 

One  morning  we  drove  to  the  burning  ghat,  and  from 
personal  examination  of  cremation,  I  am  able  to  express 
my  preference  for  Christian  burial.  The  business  of 
burning  the  dead — for  in  India  it  is  a  business  like  any 
other,  and  belongs  to  a  low  caste — is  carried  on  in  the 
most  heartless  manner.  A  building  is  erected  upon  the 
river-bank,  about  a  hundred  feet  in  length  and  twenty- 
five  feet  in  width,  and  open  on  the  side  toward  the 
river.  The  dead  are  brought  there  upon  stretchers 
wrapped  in  a  little  cloth,  and  are  first  shaved  by  the 
attendants,  who  open  the  mouth  and  pour  down  a  vial 
of  the  water  of  the  sacred  Ganges.  The  body  is  then 
bent  into  a  sitting  posture,  carried  out  to  the  middle  of 
the  building,  and  wood  built  around  it.  We  saw  the 
14 


2IO  Round  the    World. 

embers  of  several  piles  which  had  just  done  their  work, 
and  one  pile  blazing,  through  the  interstices  of  which 
parts  of  the  body  were  plainly  visible.  It  was  all  horri- 
ble to  me  as  conducted  here,  but  I  can  conceive  of  the 
grand  funeral  piles  of  the  high  priests  being  made  most 
impressive ;  and  so  I  am  told  they  are,  but  the  crema- 
tion of  the  poor  lacks  every  element  of  this  nature.  My 
heart  bled  for  a  poor  widow  whose  husband  had  just 
been  taken  to  the  pile.  She  was  of  a  very  low  caste,  but 
her  grief  was  heartrending ;  not  loud,  but  I  thought  I 
could  taste  the  saltness  of  her  tears,  they  seemed  so  bit- 
ter ;  but  she  has  this  consolation  to  comfort  her  after 
the  outburst,  that  she  insured  the  eternal  happiness  of 
her  mate  by  having  his  ashes  mingled  with  the  sacred 
river  of  God.  No  one  will  touch  or  associate  with  the 
caste  who  dress  and  burn  the  dead,  nor  could  any  one 
be  induced,  save  one  branch  of  this  caste,  to  furnish  the 
fire  which  lights  the  funeral  pile,  for  which  sometimes 
large  sums  are  exacted,  in  case  the  relatives  of  the  dead 
are  wealthy. 

The  absence  of  women,  other  than  coolies,  which 
has  struck  us  everywhere  in  the  East,  is  if  anything 
even  more  marked  in  India,  where,  so  far,  we  have 
scarcely  seen  one  woman  of  high  caste.  The  Moham- 
medans do  not  permit  their  ladies  ever  to  leave  the 
house,  and  upon  rare  occasions,  when  temples  must  be 
visited,  they  are  closely  concealed  from  view  and  driven 
in  a  close  carriage  or  carried  in  a  sedan  chair.    The  Hin- 


spots  on  the  Sun,  211 

doos  are  not  quite  so  strict,  and  we  have  seen  a  few  in 
secluded  streets  going  a  few  steps,  but  closely  muffled 
up  and  with  faces  covered. 

Do  you  remember  with  what  laughter  the  sun-spot 
theory  was  received  ?  At  least  I  know  I  laughed  when 
I  first  heard  of  it — but  here  in  India,  where  the  rain- 
fall is  the  prime  condition  of  existence  to  millions  and 
the  sun  is  much  more  powerful  than  with  us,  the  Mete- 
orological Department  has  just  reported  that  there  is 
apparently  a  sure  connection  between  the  rainfall  and 
its  distribution  and  the  spots  upon  the  sun.  When 
these  spots  are  at  the  minimum  there  is  a  tendency 
to  prolonged  excessive  pressure  over  the  land  and  an 
unusual  amount  and  irregular  distribution  of  rain. 

"  There  is  blood  upon  the  moon," 

still  stands  as  a  poetic  expression ;  but  "  there  are  great 
spots  upon  the  sun "  must  pass  as  presaging  famine. 
There  seems  to  have  been  an  element  of  truth  after  all 
in  "  the  signs  of  the  heavens  "  of  the  astrologer,  only 
the  great  law  which  governs  them  was  unknown. 


Thursday,  February  6. 
We  left  Calcutta  for  the  Hindoo  Mecca,  Benares,  to- 
night, and  had  our  first  experience  of  Indian  railway 
travel,  which  proved  to  be  very  comfortable.  We  had 
all  to  ourselves  a  first-class  carriage  compartment  con- 
taining two  sofas  lengthwise  of  the  car  and  one  across ; 


212  Rotind  the   World. 

above  these  were  three  upper  berths,  to  be  let  down,  if 
necessary,  and  used  as  beds.  A  smaller  compartment 
contained  dressing-room,  etc.,  for  all  of  which  there  is 
no  extra  charge.  Evidently  there  is  no  field  here  for 
my  enterprising  friend  Mr.  Pullman.  Our  route  lay 
through  the  opium-growing  district,  and  the  white 
poppies  were  just  beginning  to  bloom.  I  did  not  know 
before  that  only  the  white  variety  is  grown,  but,  curi- 
ously enough,  the  red  flower  is  not  nearly  so  produc- 
tive. This  set  us  to  thinking  that  there  may,  after  all, 
be  something  in  the  Chinaman's  preference  for  a  black 
dog  to  one  of  another  color.  By  all  means  let  us  have 
the  two  kinds  analyzed  and  see  whether  the  blood  be 
just  the  same.  The  opium  question  has  given  rise  to 
much  angry  discussion  upon  which  we  do  not  propose 
to  pass  an  opinion.  My  readers  may  safely  assume,  I 
think,  that  the  difficulties  we  encounter  in  restraining 
or  abolishing  the  use  of  liquor  among  ourselves,  also 
surround  the  opium  question  in  the  East.  It  is  their 
liquor.  China  grows  most  of  what  she  consumes,  and  I 
believe  would  grow  it  all  if  the  Indian  drug  was  not  ad- 
mitted. Its  exclusion  by  the  Chinese  would  not  there- 
fore seriously  lessen  its  use.  Still  it  places  England  in 
a  false  position  before  the  world  to  enforce  its  ad- 
mission by  treaty  stipulations.  The  sum  involved  to 
the  Indian  revenue  exceeds  seven  millions  sterling  per 
annum  ($35,000,000);  that  is  the  net  yearly  profit  made 
out  of   the  growth  of  the  poppy.     It   would   not  all 


The  Opium  Question.  213 

be  lost,  and  perhaps  not  be  seriously  reduced,  were 
China  free  to  exclude  it,  for  large  quantities  would  be 
smuggled  in,  and  the  people  would  have  it.  I  wish 
England's  hands  were  entirely  free  from  all  stain  in  con- 
nection with  this  business.  China  should  not  be  com- 
pelled by  England  to  admit  a  drug  which  is  considered 
pernicious. 

The  total  exports  this  year  were  ninety-one  thou- 
sand chests,  valued  at  thirteen  millions  sterling,  most  of 
it  to  China.  The  growing  of  the  poppy  is  a  govern- 
ment monopoly  in  the  Bengal  province  (Calcutta). 
Each  year  government  enters  into  contracts  with  culti- 
vators to  devote  so  many  acres  to  its  cultivation — an 
advance  upon  the  expected  crops  is  made  and  final  set- 
tlements at  the  end  of  the  season  according  to  amount 
and  quality  produced.  The  drug  is  extracted  at  two 
government  factories.  In  the  other  district,  the  produce 
of  which  passes  through  the  Bombay  presidency,  the 
cultivation  of  the  plant  is  free,  but  a  duty  is  collected 
upon  the  opium. 

We  are  in  the  dry  season,  and  where  not  irrigated 
the  vast  plains  of  India  are  parched.  The  soil  is  a  light 
brown  clay,  and  turns  readily  to  fine  dust,  which  seems 
to  blow  over  everything  and  make  all  of  one  hue.  Even 
the  scanty  muslin  clothing  of  the  people  becomes  of 
this  dusty  color.  The  houses  are  only  mud  huts  one 
story  high  and  roofed  with  coarse  straw ;  an  opening  in 
one  side  serves  as  a  door,  but  with  this  exception  the 


214  Roii7id  the   World. 

hovel  is  closed ;  neither  window  nor  chimney  appears, 
and  when  fires  are  made  the  smoke  escapes  through  all 
parts  of  the  roof,  and  when  the  roof  is  closer  than 
usual,  through  the  door.  This  dusty,  dirty  mud  color 
of  soil,  streets,  houses,  dress,  and  people  gives  one  an 
impression  of  a  more  squalid  poverty  even  than  that  of 
the  overcrowded  Chinese  in  Shanghai.  These  latter 
have  more  clothing  and  no  dust,  and  their  dirtiness 
seems  a  less  objectionable  form  of  dirt. 

One  remarkable  difference  between  these  people 
and  the  Chinese  is  that  we  never  see  the  former  eating, 
while  the  latter  eat  frequently.  I  am  told  that  the 
Indians  have  but  two  meals  a  day — at  noon  and  at 
eight  in  the  evening,  with  a  bite  early  in  the  morning. 
As  is  well  known,  the  Hindoos  are  strict  vegetarians, 
neither  meat,  fish,  poultry,  nor  even  eggs  being  allowed. 
The  result  of  a  vegetable  diet,  if  they  are  to  be  taken 
as  a  fair  example,  is  not  such  as  to  favor  its  general 
adoption.  The  Mohammedans,  on  the  other  hand,  eat 
everything  but  pork;  like  the  Jews,  they  forbid  this 
one  article,  and  I  am  informed  that  the  Mohammedans 
are  a  far  sturdier  race  than  their  neighbors  the  Hin- 
doos ;  but  they  should  be  superior,  as  the  advance  from 
Hindooism,  with  its  numerous  gods  and  idolatrous 
worship,  to  Mohammedanism  with  its  one  god  is  an  im- 
mense one.  The  claims  which  Mohammed  has  upon 
the  gratitude  of  mankind  rest  upon  a  solid  basis,  for  he 
it  was  who  proclaimed  to  the  East  that  there  is  but  one 


Mohammedanism.  2 1 5 

God,  and  announced  himself  as  his  prophet  only,  in- 
stead of  demanding  that  he  himself  should  be  wor- 
shipped as  divine ;  but  he  performed  another  great 
service,  for  he  abolished  the  abominable  system  of 
caste,  and  thus  it  comes  that  the  most  popular  religion 
in  existence  hails  all  its  disciples,  from  the  peasant  to 
the  Sultan,  as  of  one  brotherhood,  as  Christianity  does 
with  hers.  There  are  nearly  fifty  millions  of  Moham- 
medans among  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of 
India's  population,  and  it  is  to  them  we  must  chiefly 
look  for  the  regeneration  of  the  native  races. 

As  we  pass  through  the  country  v/e  are  surprised  at 
the  crowds  of  gayly-dressed  natives  waiting  at  the  cross- 
ings to  pass  the  line,  and  at  the  stations  to  take  the 
trains.  All  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  are  to  be  seen  in 
their  wraps.  It  is  the  season  of  idleness  just  now,  their 
two  months  of  rest  in  the  country,  and  the  entire  popu- 
lation seem  to  be  running  about  in  holiday  attire,  form- 
ing a  striking  contrast  to  their  fellows  in  the  towns, 
who  sit  in  their  hovels  hard  at  work,  one  crowding 
another  in  his  seat.  Before  England  established  free 
dispensaries  for  these  masses  the  rate  of  mortality  must 
have  been  something  incredible ;  even  now  it  is  very 
high,  although  last  year  in  the  two  provinces  alone 
no  fewer  than  eleven  hundred  thousand  patients  were 
treated  or  prescribed  for  by  these  institutions,  which 
we  rejoice  to  see  scattered  throughout  the  country 
wherever  we  go.     Nor  in  all  her  illustrious  record  do 


2i6  Rou7id  the   World. 

we  know  a  brighter  page  than  that  which  chronicles  the 
rise  and  progress  of  these  truly  English  organizations. 
Manufactures  in  India  are  not  profitable  at  present : 
during  the  scarcity  of  cotton,  owing  to  the  American 
war,  large  quantities  were   grown    here   and    fortunes 
made   in  the  business;    eventually   cotton    mills  were 
built  in  Bombay  and  jute  mills  in  Calcutta,  which  pros- 
pered for  a  time,  but  now  that  America,  under  the  sys- 
tem  of   free   labor,   has  demonstrated    her   ability    to 
supply   cheaper   and  better   cotton   than    India,  these 
enterprises  languish.     I  counted   thirty-eight    spinning 
and   weaving   companies   in   Bombay,  and  twenty-one 
cotton-press    companies,    the    shares    of    which    were 
quoted  in  the  market,  and  found  that  on  an  average 
these  would  not   command  to-day  one-half  the  actual 
capital  paid  in.     It  is  much  the  same  with  the  seven 
Calcutta  jute  companies.     Cotton,  both  as  to  growth 
and  manufacture,  in  India,  I  believe  has  no  future,  save 
one  contingent  upon  the  interruption  of  the  American 
supply,  of  which  there  does  not  appear  much  danger. 
But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  fall  in  the  value 
of  silver  so  far  is  a  direct  gain  to  native  productions. 
The  planter  and  manufacturer  alike  pay  in  the  debased 
currency  and  sell  the  product  as  far  as  it  is  exported  for 
gold,  upon  which  they  realize  a  handsome  premium. 
America  needs  a   continuance  of  low  rates  for  trans- 
portation   to    counterbalance    this    advantage   of    her 
Indian  rival. 


Benares.  1 1 7 

Benares,  Saturday,  February  8. 
We  started  from  our  hotel  early  this  morning  to  see 
the  Hindoos  bathing  in  the  sacred  waters  of  the 
Ganges.  Benares  is  to  the  pious  Hindoo  all  that 
Mecca  is  to  the  good  son  of  the  Prophet,  and  much 
more  beside,  and  he  esteems  himself  happy  if  it  is 
vouchsafed  him  to  die  in  sight  of  this  stream  and  this 
city.  Pilgrims  flock  here  from  all  parts  of  India,  and 
thousands  are  carried  from  long  distances,  while  dying, 
that  their  eyes  may  behold,  ere  they  close,  the  holy 
city  of  God.  At  the  junction  yesterday,  six  miles  out, 
we  came  upon  our  first  band  of  pilgrims,  for  they  now 
patronize  the  rail  freely,  men  and  women,  each  with  the 
inevitable  bundle  of  rags  which  serves  as  his  bed  en 
route  and  as  a  change  of  clothing,  to  be  blessed  by 
washing  in  the  Ganges.  It  requires  about  a  month  to 
worship  at  every  temple  and  do  all  that  the  priests  per- 
suade these  pilgrims  to  be  essential  for  their  salvation, 
every  ceremony,  of  course,  producing  revenue  for  this 
class.  Each  Rajah  of  India  has  his  temple  upon  the 
bank  of  the  river,  and  it  is  these  handsome  structures, 
situated  on  the  cliff  which  overhangs  the  river,  that 
give  to  Benares  its  unparalleled  beauty.  In  each  tem- 
ple a  priest  is  maintained  who  prays  constantly  and 
bathes  every  morning  as  a  substitute  for  his  master,  the 
Rajah,  but  the  latter  comes  in  person  also  for  one 
month  each  year  to  perform  the  sacred  rites.  We  were 
fortunate  this  morning  in  seeing  the  Rajah  of  Nepaul  at 


2i8  Rowid  the   World. 

his  devotions.  He  has  a  small  covered  boat  of  his  own, 
and  we  found  him  on  his  knees,  in  front  of  it,  gazing 
upon  the  sun,  as  we  pulled  slowly  past  in  our  boat,  his 
staff  standing  behind  him  in  reverential  attitudes.  For 
one  full  month  this  intelligent  ruler,  who  speaks  English 
fluently  and  is  well  informed  of  the  views  Europeans 
hold  of  his  religious  ideas,  will  nevertheless  work  hard, 
visiting  daily  the  temples,  going  through  various  exer- 
cises, and  bathing  every  morning  in  the  Ganges.  One 
other  Rajah  is  here,  and  others  are  shortly  to  come  and 
do  likewise.  It  seems  so  strange  that  these  men  still 
remain  slaves  to  such  superstitions ;  but  how  few  among 
ourselves  succeed  in  rising  beyond  what  we  happen  to 
have  been  taught  in  our  childhood  !  It  is  very  differ- 
ent, I  am  told,  with  those  who  have  received  English 
ideas  in  their  youth  at  the  government  colleges.  They 
make  quick  work  of  the  Hindoo  idols  ;  but  so  far  every 
one  here  agrees  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Field  when  he  says : 
"  It  needs  very  little  learning  to  convince  the  Hindoo 
that  his  sacred  books  are  a  mass  of  fable.  But  this  does 
not  make  him  a  Christian.  It  only  lands  him  in  infidel- 
ity, and  leaves  him  there."  The  Encyclopccdia  Britan- 
nica  says  that  "  the  progress  of  Protestant  missions 
amounts  at  present  to  almost  nothing."  In  Dr.  Mullen's 
report,  down  to  1871,  the  "whole  force  of  English  mis- 
sionaries— 579,  and  of  native  preachers,  1,993 — had  pro- 
duced a  native  Christian  population  of  only  28o,6c)0. 
There  was  probably  a  much  larger  number  in  the  south 


A  Sacred  Bath.  219 

of  India  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century." 
I  heard  everywhere  corroborations  of  this  statement. 

The  wife  of  the  Rajah,  we  heard,  had  yesterday  per- 
formed the  most  sacred  of  all  the  ceremonies  under 
conditions  of  considerable  popular  excitement.  The 
sacred  well,  the  stairs  leading  from  it  to  the  river,  and 
the  bathing  place  at  the  river,  were  all  covered  in ;  the 
crowd  could  only  see  the  sedan  chair  which  carried  the 
queen  to  the  well,  but  the  spectacle  attracted  great 
numbers.  This  well  is  simply  a  trench  about  twenty- 
five  feet  long  and  not  more  than  three  feet  wide,  but  it 
must  be  thirty  feet  below  the  surface.  Broad  steps  lead 
to  it  from  all  sides.  In  this  well  every  Hindoo  of  good 
caste  is  permitted  to  wash,  and  there  are  always  many 
in  it.  The  water  is  foul  and  offensive,  yet  such  is  its 
reputed  sanctity  that  no  sin  can  be  committed  so 
heinous  that  it  cannot  be  washed  away  by  it.  The 
ceremony,  fortunately,  is  incomplete  until  one,  rising 
from  its  stench,  walks  to  the  pure  water  of  the  Ganges 
and  bathes  there.  I  think  the  ceremony  must  typify 
man  before  purification,  foul  with  sin,  and  then  cleansed 
by  bathing  in  the  pure  Jordan  afterward ;  but  no  one 
could  give  me  any  information  upon  this  point.  At  all 
events  it  was  into  this  sink  that  the  Rajah's  wife 
bravely  immersed  herself  yesterday,  and  it  is  here,  too, 
the  Rajah  himself  must  come  before  he  leaves — poor 
man ! 

The  place  where  the  dead  are  burned  was  pointed 


2  20  Round  the   World. 

out  as  we  drifted  past  in  our  boat,  but  it  was  then  un- 
occupied. As  we  returned,  however,  one  body  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  attendants,  who  had  taken  it  into  the 
river  and  were  just  in  the  act  of  pouring  the  sacred 
water  down  the  throat  preparatory  to  the  final  scene. 
One  woman  alone  sat  on  the  shore  weeping,  and  two 
small  children  at  her  side  seemed  not  to  understand 
why.  It  was  still  early  morning,  and  all  was  quiet. 
Our  guide  pointed  out  some  who  were  evidently  friends, 
in  conversation  with  men  on  a  parapet  above.  They 
were  bargaining  for  the  sacred  fire  to  light  the  funeral 
pile.  Government  prohibits  the  burning  of  the  forlorn 
v/idow  with  her  husband's  body,  as  was  formerly  the 
custom,  but  it  is  said  many  widows  wish  this  privilege 
even  yet,  nor  can  I  blame  them  much.  I'm  sure  I  don't 
see  Vv'hy,  beyond  the  mere  instinct  of  self-preservation, 
they  should  have  a  wish  to  live  on.  Those  educated 
people  among  us  who  commit  suicide  have  prospects 
before  them  which  might  be  called  blissful  compared 
with  what  confronts  poor  widows  in  India. 

We  visited  the  principal  temples  and  shrines  in  suc- 
cession, but  I  do  not  propose  to  rehearse  their  names 
and  special  virtues.  There  is  a  great  sameness  about 
them,  but  the  Monkey  Temple  differs  from  the  others 
in  having  several  hundred  monkeys  running  over  it  in 
every  direction.  Like  the  rest,  this  is  owned  by  a  num- 
ber of  people,  and  its  shares  are  marketable  property. 
Dr.  Lazarus,  the  chief  of  the  medical  department,  tells 


The  Monkey   Temple.  221 

us  that  the  "  river  people,"  a  term  embracing  those  who 
own  the  temples  on  the  stream — ^just  as  we  would  say 
the  "  steel  rail  "  or  the  "pig  metal  "  people  at  home — 
are  very  much  depressed,  complaining  bitterly  that  the 
revenues  have  fallen  away.  One  owner  in  the  Monkey 
Temple,  probably  the  most  prosperous  of  all,  had  some 
time  ago  asked  what  this  trouble  meant.  He  was  ad- 
vised to  sell  his  monkey  stock  as  soon  as  possible,  but 
up  to  the  present  day  he  has  found  no  one  willing  to  in- 
vest in  the  property.  One  of  the  high  priests  of  an- 
other sacred  shrine  said  to  my  informant  that  he  had 
seen  in  his  day  three  ages — one  of  gold,  one  of  silver, 
and  now  he  had  reached  the  age  of  copper,  and  was 
only  thankful  when  he  saw  a  few  pieces  of  that.  "  The 
people  still  come  as  of  old,  to  worship,  which  costs  noth- 
ing," he  said,  "  but  they  don't  pay  the  gods  more  than 
a  pittance.  I  wonder  what  we  are  coming  to  ?  "  While 
great  allowance  has  to  be  made  for  the  changed  condi- 
tion of  affairs  throughout  the  world,  which  has  seriously 
affected  the  revenues  of  religious  establishments  every- 
where, and  which  India  has  had  to  share,  aggravated  by 
the  loss  of  her  cotton  industry,  still  it  can  hardly  be 
doubted  that  Hindooism  as  a  vital  force  is  crumbling 
slowly  to  pieces,  and  that  the  priests  are  losing  their 
sway  over  the  masses.  Caste  also  goes  slowly  with  the 
tide  of  change,  and  Brahmans  are  now  occasionally  found 
taking  employment  below  that  of  their  caste  ;  and  while 
a  high-caste  Hindoo  some  years  ago  would  have  consid- 


22  2  Round  the  World, 

ered  himself  defiled  if  even  the  garments  of  a  low-caste 
person  touched  him,  he  now  rushes  into  the  same  rail- 
way compartment  among  the  general  crowd  and  strug- 
gles for  a  seat  with  various  castes,  and  says  nothing 
about  it.  One  stand  the  English  home  Government 
took,  in  deference  to  English  ideas  as  opposed  to  those 
of  the  Anglo-Indian  authorities,  which  alone  dooms 
caste,  sooner  or  later,  to  extinction :  it  would  not  per- 
mit different  classes  on  the  railways  to  be  established 
for  Hindoos  or  Mohammedans,  or  for  castes  of  the 
former.  Many  residents  in  India  feared  that  this  would 
prevent  the  natives  from  using  the  lines,  but  the  result 
has  wonderfully  belied  these  fears  and  vindicated  the 
sagacity  of  those  who  ventured  to  inaugurate  this  sys- 
tem ;  and  now  one  sees  Hindoos  and  Mohammedans, 
high  caste  and  low  caste,  jostling  each  other  in  their 
efforts  to  get  desirable  seats  in  the  third-class  compart- 
ments, where,  by  the  way,  they  travel  for  less  per  mile 
than  anywhere  else  in  the  world,  third-class  fares  in  In- 
dia being  uniformly  one-half  of  a  cent  per  mile.  First- 
class  fares,  with  such  sleeping-car  luxuries  as  I  have 
before  described  included,  are  just  about  our  rates  with 
sleeping-cars  not  included — viz.,  three  cents  per  mile. 

While  Hindooism  is  thus  passing  away,  but  little 
progress  is  made  with  Islam.  The  fifty  millions  of  Mo- 
hammedans stand  to-day  where  they  have  stood  for 
ages,  and  cry  from  their  mosques  morning  and  night, 
"  There  is  but  one  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet." 


Sacred  Water.  223 

No  idols,  no  drunkenness,  no  caste.  The  contrast  be- 
tween their  faith  and  that  of  Christians  is  therefore 
much  less  marked,  and  our  guide  says  to  us,  with  evi- 
dent pride,  "  Hindoos  believe  many  gods,  worship  idols. 
I  believe  like  you,  one  God,  no  idols." 

India  is  thus  in  a  state  of  transition,  her  caste  and 
religion  both  passing  away.  The  work  before  this  gen- 
eration and  probably  the  next  is  to  pull  down  and 
destroy.  It  will  remain  for  those  who  come  after  to 
begin  the  more  difficult  labor  of  building  up. 

We  met  at  Benares  strings  of  water-carriers,  carrying 
brass  vessels  on  each  end  of  a  pole  borne  over  the 
shoulder.  These  come  here  for  hundreds  of  miles  on 
foot,  and  take  back  to  their  customers  in  the  country 
the  sacred  water  of  the  blessed  river.  It  is  a  regular 
business,  and  furnishes  employment  for  thousands  of 
men.  Upon  no  account  must  this  water  be  carried  by 
railway  and  deprived  of  its  healing  powers  by  being 
handled  by  unbelievers.  It  must  be  carried  by  Hindoos 
of  the  proper  caste  on  foot,  or  it  has  no  virtue. 

Science  invades  everything  nowadays,  and  the 
officials  have  recently  had  the  water  of  one  of  the  sacred 
wells  analyzed  by  a  chemist — audacious  dog  of  an  infidel 
— and  here  he  comes  with  his  CO^  and  all  the  virtue  of 
this  water  of  life  is  gone.  It  is  found  unfit  for  human 
use,  and  the  well  is  ordered  to  be  closed.  The  chemist, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  ignorant  natives,  has  sacrificed  spir- 
itual for  physical  health ;  preferred  the  welfare  of  their 


2  24  Round  the   World, 

bodies  to  that  of  their  souls,  as   is   the   custom   with 
these  wicked  scientists. 

We  pass  booths  in  which  native  jewellers  sit  hard  at 
work  fashioning  rings,  brooches,  and  other  articles  of 
personal  adornment.  Their  dexterity  is  marvellous ; 
without  elaborate  appliances  of  any  kind,  with  only  a 
small  blow  pipe  and  a  few  rude  tools,  they  will  take  a 
gold  coin  from  you  and  before  your  eyes  shape  it  into 
any  form  selected.  But  it  is  said  they  must  have  a 
model  to  copy  from ;  no  original  design  emanates  from 
them.  The  booths,  or  little  shops,  are  curious  affairs. 
They  are  built  of  mud,  with  neither  window  nor  door, 
the  floor  on  which  the  artisans  sit  being  about  four 
feet  above  the  narrow  street  level. 

I  never  was  more  thoroughly  impressed  with  the  po- 
sition of  the  European  of  India  than  to-day  when  push- 
ing through  the  crowded,  narrow  lanes  of  Benares.  Our 
native  guide  went  before  us  carrying  a  whip  which  he 
cracked  and  brandished  among  the  crowd,  calling  out 
"  Sahib  !  Sahib  !  "  and  the  people,  casting  one  glance  be- 
hind, at  once  hurried  out  of  our  way,  making  a  clear 
track  for  our  august  person  supposed  to  represent  the 
conquering  race.  The  respectful  salaams,  as  we  caught 
the  eye  of  one  native  after  another,  their  deferential,  not 
to  say  obsequious,  attitude  as  we  passed — all  this  tells 
its  story.  That  "  all  men  are  born  free  and  equal "  will 
not  enter  the  Hindoo  mind  for  centuries — not  till 
England  has  brought  it  up  to  the  standard  of  self-gov- 


An  Elephant  Ride.  225 

ernment,  which  it  is  gradually  doing,  however,  by  its 
schools  and  colleges. 

Benares  has  been  famous  for  centuries  for  its  manu- 
facture of  gold  and  silver  embroideries.  I  remember 
that  Macaulay  speaks  of  them  in  his  essay  on  Warren 
Hastings  as  decorating  alike  the  court  of  Versailles  and 
the  halls  of  St.  James.  We  went  to  the  native  village 
and  saw  the  work  carried  on.  How  such  exquisite 
fabrics  come  from  the  antiquated  looms  situated  in  mud 
hovels  it  is  hard  to  understand,  but  they  do.  We  saw 
one  man  who  had  no  less  than  thirty-three  different  tiny 
spools  to  work  from  in  a  piece  not  more  than  a  yard 
wide.  All  of  these  he  had  in  turn  to  introduce  in  the 
web,  and  pass  through  a  greater  or  lesser  number  of 
threads,  the  one  starting  in  where  the  other  left  the 
woof,  before  one  single  thread  was  complete  from  end 
to  end  of  the  warp  and  could  be  driven  into  the  pattern. 
The  people  of  Benares  also  excel  as  workers  in  brass. 

To-day  we  had  a  unique  experience  indeed,  being 
carried  through  the  principal  streets  of  Benares  on 
State  elephants,  kindly  provided  for  us  by  the  Rajah 
of  Benares.  Mr.  H.,  of  New  York,  whom  we  have  met 
on  his  way  round  the  world,  and  Vandy  and  I  were  the 
riders.  We  were  driven  to  the  palace,  and  found  there 
two  huge  animals,  gayly  caparisoned,  awaiting  our 
arrival,  surrounded  by  servants  in  resplendent  liveries. 
The  elephants  very  kindly  got  upon  their  knees,  which 
rendered  a  short  ladder  only  necessary  for  us  to  mount 
15 


2  26  Round  the   World. 

by.  The  motion  is  decidedly  peculiar,  and,  until  one 
becomes  used  to  it,  I  should  think  very  fatiguing;  but 
we  enjoyed  our  elephant  ride  greatly,  and  the  Rajah  has 
our  hearty  thanks. 

We  are  in  the  land  of  the  cheapest  labor  in  the 
world.  It  is  doubtful  if  men  can  be  found  anywhere 
else  to  do  a  day's  work  for  as  little  as  they  are  paid  in 
India.  Railway  laborers  and  coolies  of  all  kinds  receive 
only  four  rupees  per  month,  and  find  themselves ;  these 
are  worth  just  now  forty  cents  each,  or,  say,  $i.6o 
{6s.  6d.)  in  gold  for  a  month's  service.  Upon  this  a 
man  has  to  exist.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  masses 
are  constantly  upon  the  verge  of  starvation?  Wom- 
en earn  much  less,  and  of  course  every  member  of  a 
family  has  to  work  and  earn  something.  The  com- 
mon food  is  a  pulse  called  gran ;  the  better  class 
indulge  in  a  pea  called  daahl.  Anything  beyond  a 
vegetable  diet  is  not  dreamed  of. 

Before  leaving  Benares  I  must  speak  again  of  the 
scene  at  the  river,  which  far  excels  any  representation  I 
have  seen  of  it  or  any  description  I  have  read.  Photo- 
graphs cannot  be  made  to  convey  a  just  idea  of  its 
picturesque  beauty,  because  the  view  is  enlivened  by 
such  masses  and  combinations  of  color  as  Turner  alone 
could  do  justice  to.  Indeed,  my  first  thought  as  I  saw 
the  thousands  on  the  ascending  banks — one  tier  of  rest- 
ing-places above  another,  culminating  in  the  grand 
temples  towering   at  the  tops — was   that    I    had  seen 


Ltickjiow.  227 

something  akin  to  this  in  a  dazzling  picture  somewhere. 
Need  I  say  that  it  is  in  the  Turner  Gallery  alone  where 
such  color  can  be  seen?  He  should  have  painted  the 
"  Hindoo  Bathers  at  Benares,"  and  given  the  world  one 
more  gem  revealing  what  he  alone,  in  his  generation, 
fully  saw  in  the  mind's  eye,  ''the  light  which  never 
shone  on  sea  or  shore."  We  have  voted  this  scene  at 
Benares  the  finest  sight  we  have  yet  witnessed. 


LucKNOW,  Tuesday,  Februaiy  11. 

We  reached  Lucknow  at  night.  The  moon  was  not 
yet  shining,  but  the  stars  shed  their  peaceful  halo 
around  this  spot,  to  which  the  eyes  of  the  civilized 
world  were  so  long  directed  during  the  dark  days  of 
the  mutiny.  At  the  hotel  upon  arrival  a  lady's  voice 
was  heard  singing  the  universal  refrain  which  nearest 
touches  all  English  hearts  in  India  and  expresses  the 
ever  dominant  longing,  "  Home,  Sweet,  Sweet  Home." 

There  is  no  trace  here  of  the  massacres  which  have 
made  this  region  memorable.  But  is  the  past  to  be  re- 
peated ?  Who  can  assure  us  that  these  bronzed  figures 
which  surround  us  by  millions  may  not  again  in  some 
mad  moment  catch  the  fever  of  revolt?  This  is  the 
anxious  question  which  I  find  intruding  itself  upon  me 
every  hour.  Truly  it  is  a  dangerous  game,  this,  to  un- 
dertake the  permanent  subjection  of  a  conquered  race ; 
and  I  do  not  believe  that  after  General  Grant  sees 
India  he  will  regret  that  the  foolish  Santo   Domingo 


2  28  Round  the   World. 

craze  passed  away.  If  America  can  learn  one  lesson 
from  England,  it  is  the  folly  of  conquest,  where  con- 
quest involves  the  government  of  an  alien  race. 

Our  first  visit  was  to  the  ruins  of  the  Residency, 
where  for  six  long  months  Sir  Henry  Lawrence  and  his 
devoted  band  were  shut  up  and  surrounded  by  fifty 
thousand  armed  rebels.  The  grounds,  which  I  should 
say  are  about  thirty  acres  in  extent,  were  fortunately 
encompassed  by  an  earthen  rampart  six  feet  in  height. 
You  need  not  be  told  of  the  heroic  resistance  of  the 
two  regiments  of  British  soldiers  and  one  of  natives,  nor 
of  the  famous  rescue.  Hour  after  hour,  day  after  day, 
week  after  week,  and  month  after  month,  the  three 
hundred  women  and  children,  shut  in  a  cellar  under 
ground,  watched  and  prayed  for  the  sound  of  Have- 
lock's  bugles,  but  it  came  not.  Hope,  wearied  out  at 
last,  had  almost  given  place  to  despair.  Through  the 
day  the  attacks  of  the  infuriated  mob  could  be  seen  and 
repelled,  but  who  was  to  answer  that  when  darkness 
fell  the  wall  was  not  to  be  pierced  at  some  weak  point 
of  the  extended  line?  One  officer  in  command  of  a 
critical  point  failing — not  to  do  his  duty,  there  was 
never  a  fear  of  that — but  failing  to  judge  correctly  of 
what  the  occasion  demanded,  and  the  struggle  was 
over.  Death  was  the  last  of  the  fears  of  these  poor 
women  night  after  night  as  the  days  rolled  slowly  away. 
One  night  there  was  graver  silence  than  usual  in  the 
room ;    all  were  despondent,  and  lay  resigned  to  their 


yessie  of  Lucknow.  229 

seemingly  impending  fate.  No  rescue  came,  nor  any 
tidings  of  relief.  In  the  darkness  one  piercing  scream 
was  heard  from  the  narrow  window.  A  Highland  nurse 
had  clambered  up  to  gaze  through  the  bars  and  strain 
her  ears  once  more.  The  cooling  breeze  of  night  blew 
in  her  face  and  wafted  such  music  as  she  could  not  stay 
to  hear.  One  spring  to  the  ground,  a  clapping  of  hands 
above  the  head,  and  such  a  shriek  as  appalled  her  sis- 
ters who  clustered  round  ;  but  all  she  could  say  between 
the  sobs  was :  "  The  slogan — the  slogan  !  "  But  few 
knew  what  the  slogan  was.  "  Didna  ye  hear — didna  ye 
hear?"  cried  the  demented  girl,  and  then  listening  one 
moment,  that  she  might  not  be  deceived,  she  muttered, 
"  It's  the  Macgregors  gathering,  the  grandest  o'  them  a'," 
and  fell  senseless  to  the  ground.  Truly,  my  lassie,  the 
"  grandest  o'  them  a',"  for  never  came  such  strains  be- 
fore to  mortal  ears.  And  so  Jessie  of  Lucknow  takes 
her  place  in  history  as  one  of  the  finest  themes  for 
painter,  dramatist,  poet  or  historian  henceforth  and 
forever.  I  have  been  hesitating  whether  the  next 
paragraph  in  my  note-book  should  go  down  here  or 
be  omitted.  Probably  it  would  be  in  better  taste  if 
quietly  ignored,  but  then  it  would  be  so  finely  natural 
if  put  in.  Well,  I  shall  be  natural  or  nothing,  and  re- 
count that  I  could  not  help  rejoicing  that  Jessie  was 
Scotch,  and  that  Scotchmen  first  broke  the  rebels'  lines 
and  reached  the  fort,  and  that  the  bagpipes  led  the  way. 
That's  all.     I  feel  better  now  that  this  is  also  set  down. 


230  Round  the    World. 

Lucknow,  so  rich  in  historical  associations,  is  poverty 
itself  in  genuine  architectural  attractions,  magnificent  as 
it  appears  at  a  distance.  It  is  a  modern  capital.  About 
a  century  ago  a  king  of  Oude,  in  a  moment  of  ca- 
price, I  suppose,  determined  to  remove  his  capital  from 
Fyzabad  to  Lucknow.  Palaces  on  a  great  scale  were 
hastily  erected  of  common  bricks  and  covered  with 
white  plaster.  These  look  very  fine  at  a  distance,  but 
closer  inspection  reveals  the  sham,  and  one  is  provoked 
because  his  admiration  has  been  unworthily  excited. 
Several  other  kings  followed  and  carried  on  this  im- 
posture, each  building  his  palace  and  tomb  in  this  un- 
truthful way.  What  could  we  expect  from  kings  content 
to  lie  in  such  tombs  but  lives  of  disgusting  dissipation  ? 
A  simple  marble  slab  were  surely  better  than  these  pre- 
tentious lies:  anything  so  it  be  genuine.  However, 
retribution  came,  and  the  dynasty  is  extinct,  the  pres- 
ent king  living  as  a  prisoner  in  Calcutta. 

The  bazaars  of  Lucknow  are  well  worth  seeing,  with 
their  native  jewellers,  brass-workers,  and  other  artificers, 
working  in  spaces  not  more  than  six  feet  square.  We 
begin  to  see  persons  and  modes  which  remind  us  of 
scriptural  expressions — the  water-carrier  with  the  goat- 
skin filled,  "  the  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water," 
the  latter  usually  working  in  gangs  of  five.  An  earthen 
incline  is  built,  leading  up  to  the  top  of  the  wall  which 
surrounds  the  well ;  the  well-rope  passes  over  the  shoul- 
ders of  the  drawers,  and  in  marching  down  the  incline 


Lawrences   To7nb.  231 

they  raise  the  bucket.     We  came  to-day  upon  a  lot  of 

women  grinding  the  coarse  daahl.     Two  work  at  each 

mill,  sitting  opposite  one  another,  pushing  around  the 

upper  stone  by  means  of  upright  handles  fastened  into 

it. 

"  And  two  women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  mill,  and  one  shall 
be  taken  and  the  other  left," 

saith  the  Scriptures  of  old,  but  our  coming  revised  and 
corrected  edition,  I  could  not  help  hoping  to-day,  as  I 
saw  this  picture  for  the  first  time,  will  note  an  error, 
or  at  least  intimate  a  doubt  of  the  correct  translation  of 
this  passage  ;  or,  if  not,  the  age  may  require  some  com- 
mentator "  more  powerful  than  the  rest  "  to  console  us 
with  the  hope  that  while  at  the  first  call  one  was  indeed 
left,  there  would  be  a  second,  yea,  and  a  third,  a  sev- 
enth, and  a  seventy  times  seventh  call,  in  one  of  which 
even  she  would  participate. 

We  have  been  this  afternoon  among  the  tombs  of 
heroes — Lawrence  and  Havelock,  Banks  and  McNeil, 
Hodson  and  Arthur — men  who  fell  in  the  days  of  the 
mutiny.  Lawrence's  tomb  is  most  touching  from  its 
simplicity — a  short  record,  no  eulogy,  only 

"  Here  lies  Henry  Lawrence, 
Who  tried  to  do  his  duty." 

"  I  have  tried  to  do  my  duty,"  he  said,  as  he  breathed 
his  last,  and  this  is  all  his  tomb  has  to  say  of  him ;  but 
isn't  it  enough  ? 


22,2  Round  the   World. 

One  day  in  our  drive  we  came  upon  our  first  ele- 
phant and  our  first  camel  camp,  hundreds  of  the  latter 
and  nearly  two  hundred  of  the  former  being  attached  to 
the  transportation  department  of  the  army.  They  are 
said  to  perform  work  which  could  never  be  done  by 
other  animals  in  this  climate.  Bullocks  are  the  third 
class  used  as  carriers :  these  are  taught  to  trot,  and  do 
trot  well.  I  remember  one  day  in  Ceylon  one  of  them 
in  a  hackery  gave  us  in  the  mail  coach  quite  a  spirited 
race  for  a  short  distance,  but  it  was  only  to-day  that  I 
learned  that  camels  are  also  so  trained  and  used  as 
mail  or  despatch  bearers  where  speed  is  necessary, 
and  the  gait  of  a  really  good  trained  camel  is  said  to 
be  quite  easy.  If  development  goes  forward  in  this 
line,  our  posterity  may  be  using  the  camel  in  trotting 
matches  with  the  horse.  He  would  possess  the  ad- 
vantage over  that  favorite  animal  which  the  China- 
man has  over  the  European;  he  could  go  longer  between 
drinks,  and  that  counts  for  much. 

The  quarters  for  troops  at  Lucknow  are  models; 
the  officers'  quarters  are  surrounded  and  in  some  cases 
almost  embowered  by  vines  and  flowers  ;  lawn-tennis 
courts,  cricket  grounds,  ball  courts,  and  a  gymnasium 
are  provided  for  the  private  soldiers,  and  are  finer 
than  we  have  seen  elsewhere,  and  serve  to  make 
Lucknow,  with  its  beautiful  gardens  and  long  shady 
avenues,  the  one  really  pretty  rural  spot  we  have  seen 
in  India. 


Luc  know  to  Agra.  233 

Wednesday,  February'  12. 
We  are  on  our  way  to  Agra  by  rail,  and  expect  to 
arrive  in  time  to  drive  out  and  see  the  Taj  by  moon- 
light. I  have  been  reading  more  carefully  than  before 
some  descriptions  of  it,  and  keep  wondering  whether 
this  gem  of  the  world  is  to  prove  a  disappointment  or 
not.  Most  things  which  have  been  heralded  like  the 
Taj  fail  to  fulfil  expectations  at  first,  and  how  can  stone 
and  lime  be  so  formed  as  to  justify  such  fulsome  praises 
as  have  been  bestowed  upon  this  tomb  ?  One  writer,  for 
instance,  exclaims,  "  There  is  no  mystery,  no  sense  of 
partial  failure  about  the  Taj.  A  thing  of  perfect  beauty 
and  of  absolute  finish  in  every  detail,  it  might  pass  for 
the  work  of  genii,  who  knew  naught  of  the  weakness 
and  ills  with  which  mankind  were  afflicted."  The  exact 
and  prosaic  Bernier  had  to  express  doubts  whether  "  I 
may  not  be  somewhat  infected  with  '  Indianisme,'  but  I 
must  needs  say  I  believe  it  ought  to  be  reckoned 
amongst  the  wonders  of  the  world."  Bayard  Taylor 
exhausts  eulogy  upon  the  Pearl  Mosque,  calling  it  "  a 
sanctuary  so  pure  and  stainless,  revealing  so  exalted  a 
spirit  of  worship,  that  I  felt  humbled  as  a  Christian  that 
our  noble  religion  had  never  inspired  its  architects  to 
surpass  this  temple  to  God  and  Mohammed ;  "  but  when 
he  comes  to  the  Taj  itself  he  is  lost  in  rapture.  There 
is  nothing,  however,  which  the  critics — those  men  who 
have  failed  in  literature  and  art — will  not  venture  to  at- 
tack,  and    I  thought   it   advisable    to   tone   down   my 


234  Round  the   World. 

expectations  by  taking  a  dose  of  carping  criticism.  Un- 
fortunately for  me,  however,  when  I  had  got  fairly  in 
with  a  writer  who  assures  me  "  the  design  is  weak  and 
feeble,"  the  "  shadows  are  much  too  thin,"  this  misleader 
left  me  in  a  worse  condition  than  ever,  for  succumbing 
at  last  to  the  sweet  overpowering  charms  of  the 
structure  as  a  whole,  and  apparently  ashamed  of  himself 
for  ever  having  dared  to  say  one  word  against  its  per- 
fections, he  adds — just  after  he  had  bravely  done  the 
"  design  "  and  the  '*  shadows  " — "  but  the  Taj  is  like  a 
lovely  woman :  abuse  her  as  you  please,  the  moment  you 
come  into  her  presence  you  submit  to  her  fascinations." 
Pretty  criticism  this  for  one  who  wishes  the  faults  of  this 
beauty  clearly  set  forth  !  I  put  this  lover  of  the  Taj  aside 
at  once  and  try  another  writer,  who  does  indeed  give 
me  a  page  of  preventive,  well  suited  to  one  in  my  con- 
dition, but  upon  turning  over  the  page  he  too  falls  sadly 
away,  for  here  is  his  last  line : 

"  The  rare  genius  of  the  calm  building  finds  its  way  unchal- 
lenged to  the  heart." 

Well,  then,  gentlemen,  if  all  this  be  so,  what's  the  use 
of  your  petty  criticism  ?  If  this  marvel,  before  whose 
spell  all  men,  even  you  yourselves,  must  bow,  has  a 
"rigidity  of  outline,"  an  "  air  of  littleness  and  luxury," 
a  "poverty  of  relief,"  and  if  "  the  inlaid  work  has  been 
vulgarly  employed,"  and  the  patterns  are  "  meagre  in 
the  extreme,"  wasn't  it  the  highest  aim  that  its  builder 


Carping  Critics.  235 

could  probably  have  had  in  view,  to  entrance  the  world 
and  give  to  it  a  thing  of  beauty  which  is  indeed  a  joy 
forever  ?  and  doesn't  the  Taj  do  this  so  far  beyond  all 
other  human  structures  that  no  one  thinks  of  naming 
another  in  comparison  ?  And  should  not  this  incontro- 
vertible fact  teach  you  a  lesson — just  a  little  bit  of 
modesty  ?  No,  gentlemen  ;  it  isn't  the  Taj  that  must 
be  changed,  either  in  its  outline  or  shadows,  to  conform 
to  your  canons  of  criticism,  but  your  canons  of  art  that 
must  be  changed  to  embrace  the  Taj,  or  rather  to  set  it 
apart,  as  a  stroke  of  original  genius,  and  consequently 
above  and  beyond  the  domain  of  criticism  ;  for  criticism, 
like  science,  works  solidly  only  upon  what  is  absolutely 
known,  formulating  its  fixed  decrees  upon  the  past.  All 
great  geniuses  have  encountered  the  critics  of  their  day. 
How  Shakespeare  violated  the  unities!  and  didn't  Na- 
poleon win  battles  which  he  should  have  lost  ?  Let 
these  people  then  be  silent,  and  know  that  when  a 
transcendent  exhibition  of  original  genius  wins  success 
beyond  the  reach  of  measurement  by  their  plumb  and 
line  and  square  and  compass,  the  higher  law  governing 
the  seeming  miracle  will  be  duly  revealed  :  and  the  Taj 
is  just  such  a  miracle,  from  all  I  can  learn  of  its  power. 

The  evidences  of  the  intense  summer  heat  are  seen 
everywhere.  The  railway  carriages  have  false  tops, 
leaving  an  air  space  of  a  foot  between  the  roof  and 
the  cover.  Awnings  cover  the  windows  outside,  and 
there  are  posted  up  directions  for  the  use  of  the  cooling 


236  Round  the   World. 

apparatus  applied  to  each  first-class  compartment ;  the 
frames  for  punkas  are  seen  in  the  railway  waiting-rooms, 
and  we  notice  in  the  army  regulations  that  during  the 
hot  season  soldiers  are  required  to  stay  in-doors  between 
the  hours  of  eleven  and  three.  We  are  told  of  revolv- 
ing fans  being  used  to  cool  rooms,  and  that  it  is  very 
common  to  fill  doors  and  windows  with  thick  mats  of 
scented  grass,  which  are  kept  constantly  wet  ;  the  wind, 
passing  through  these,  is  cooled  to  about  ninety  de- 
grees, and  large  banana  leaves  furnish  a  cool  bed  in  ex- 
treme cases,  from  all  of  which,  "  Good  Lord,  deliver  us !  " 
We  thank  our  stars  every  day  that  we  are  doing  India 
when  the  heat,  though  great  at  midday,  is  not  unbear- 
able. We  are  five  hundred  and  fifty  miles  north  of  Cal- 
cutta, and  find  the  temperature  much  cooler.  The 
people  look  stronger,  and  necessarily  wear  more  cloth- 
ing, which  means  that  another  piece  of  coarse  bagging 
is  wrapped  around  their  shoulders.  We  are  at  the  best 
hotel  in  Agra,  and  I  notice  as  remarkable,  in  the  printed 
list  of  prices,  that  a  man  to  pull  the  punka  in  one's  bed- 
room all  night  can  be  obtained  for  the  sum  of  three  an- 
nas, or  six  cents  in  silver.  Washing  costs  two  cents  per 
piece,  but  while  these  strike  us  as  cheap,  the  next  item 
tells  us  that  each  guest  during  the  hot  season  is  charge- 
able with  twenty  cents  per  day  for  ice  used  at  table 
etc.  It  is  very  sparingly  used,  but  yet  the  little  bit 
of  ice  you  see  costs  as  much  as  the  labor  of  three 
men  all  night.     All  the  employees  of  the  railways  in 


Remarkable  Plants.  237 

India  are  required  to  join  the  volunteer  forces,  and  to 
drill  under  the  supervision  of  regular  army  officers, 
appointed  by  the  government  for  this  purpose.  An 
excellent  auxiliary  force  numbering  many  thousands 
is  thus  secured  at  trifling  expense.  One  significant 
announcement  posted  at  stations  attracted  my  atten- 
tion, and  gave  me  an  insight  into  one  department  in 
which  India  is  in  advance  of  us.  This  placard  set 
forth  that  certain  employees  having  been  found  under 
the  influence  of  liquor  while  on  duty,  the  district  court 
had  sentenced  them  to  six  months'  imprisonment. 
This  betokens  a  decided  step  forward,  I  take  it,  and  one 
which  it  would  be  advisable  for  us  to  follow.  A  captain, 
pilot,  engineer,  railway  conductor,  or  any  one  directly 
charged  with  the  care  of  human  lives  convicted  of  being 
drunk  while  on  duty  should  be  held  guilty  of  a  criminal 
offence  and  punished  by  the  State. 

I  have  been  admiring  all  through  India  three  mag- 
nificent vines,  now  in  full  bloom.  One,  the  Begonia, 
resembles  our  honeysuckle,  but  the  flower  is  larger  and 
hangs  in  large  clusters ;  the  second,  called  the  Bougan- 
viella,  is  purple  in  color  and  like  our  morning-glory, 
and  the  two  are  often  seen  climbing  together  up  tali 
trees  almost  to  their  very  tops,  covering  them  with 
a  mass  of  flowers.  The  third  favorite,  Poinsetta,  is  a 
leaf  of  rich  magenta  color.  These  three  are  the  special 
glories  of  India.  Some  of  our  own  flowers  do  tolerably 
well  in  this  region,  and  the  inherent  love  of  the  English 


238  Round  the    World. 

for  flowers  and  plants  is  seen  in  the  numerous  pretty- 
plots  and  gardens. 

Life  in  India  is  only  rendered  tolerable  by  the  op- 
portunity people  have  to  enjoy  things  which  would  be 
beyond  their  reach  at  home  without  fortunes.  All  resi- 
dences have  grounds  connected  with  them,  more  or  less 
extensive,  and  laid  out  in  fine  gardens.  Lawn-tennis 
and  croquet  grounds  are  the  rule.  Horses  and  carriages, 
or  at  least  a  vehicle  of  some  kind,  are  indispensable,  and 
no  one  who  strolls  around  the  European  quarters  in 
early  morning  and  sees  the  large  staff  of  servants  loung- 
ing about  the  spacious  verandas,  awaiting  the  call  of 
"Sahib  "  or  "  Mem  Sahiba,"  can  be  at  a  loss  to  account 
for  the  disappointment  often  experienced  by  those  who, 
after  years  of  longing,  at  last  go  home  to  enjoy  them- 
selves in  their  fancied  Elysium.  Alas !  ten  times  the 
sum  that  supports  them  here  in  style  would  not  suffice 
in  England.  Here  Sahib  awakes  and  drawls  out,  "Qui 
hi "  (you  of  my  people  who  are  in  waiting).  There  is  a 
stir  among  several  servants  who  have  lain  the  whole 
night  long  at  his  door,  to  be  in  readiness,  and  the  moan- 
ing reply  comes,  "  S-a-h-i-b,"  and  he  is  surrounded  by 
those  who  minister  to  his  slightest  wish  all  day,  leaving 
him  again  at  night  only  to  repeat  the  performance  on 
the  morrow.  When  he  drives  his  gig  to  town  one  ser- 
vant stands  at  his  back  to  wait  upon  him,  and  Madame 
appears  in  the  afternoon  upon  the  Mall  in  her  grand 
equipage,  two  on  the  box  and  two  standing  behind,  as 


Life  in  India  239 

if  she  were  a  duchess.  As  a  European  walks  the  streets 
he  is  salaamed  by  every  native  he  chances  to  look  at. 
He  moves  about,  one  of  a  superior  race  and  rank.  As 
he  approaches  a  crowd,  to  look  at  a  passing  sight,  a 
clear  lane  is  made  for  him;  and  if  he  steps  into  the 
post-office  to  ask  for  letters,  the  natives  instinctively 
fall  back  until  Sahib  is  served.  All  this  spoils  a  man 
for  residence  at  home,  where  "  one  man  is  as  good  as 
another  and  a  good  deal  better,"  unless  a  tremendous 
fortune  is  at  one's  back  to  purchase  precedence,  which 
nowadays  is  scarcely  obtainable  at  any  price  even  in 
England  where  traces  of  by-gone  days  linger  longest : 
and  so  it  falls  out  that  many  who  have  prayed  for  long 
years  for  the  day  to  come  for  their  return  to  England, 
find  the  coveted  change  but  Dead  Sea  fruit  when  it  is 
gained  at  last.  A  few  even  return  to  the  land  they  had 
so  long  prayed  to  be  allowed  to  leave,  and  take  up  their 
final  abode  among  the  hills.  For  these  people  I  cannot 
help  feeling  deeply  sorry.  It  is  impossible  that  their 
lives  can  be  full  and  rich  to  overflowing  here.  A  tone 
of  sadness,  of  vain  regret,  must  pervade  the  mind. 
The  prize  so  ardently  struggled  for  has  been  found 
unsatisfactory,  and  at  best  their  lives  must  draw  to  a 
close  tinged  by  a  sense  of  partial  failure. 

How  many  human  beings  can  the  land  maintain  to 
the  square  mile  ?  About  three  hundred  and  fifty  in 
Europe  say  the  authorities,  provided  the  soil  is  fertile 
and   climate   good.     This   is   close   upon   the  English 


240  Round  the   World. 

and  Belgian  standard ;  but  some  parts  of  India  are 
cursed  with  more  than  double  this  number ;  indeed  one 
district  has  nearly  eight  hundred  to  the  square  mile. 
This  seems  to  be  the  limit  even  for  India,  as  population 
does  not  increase  beyond  it,  and  female  infanticide  be- 
gins to  protrude  its  monstrous  form  whenever  popula- 
tion becomes  so  dense.  In  the  Punjaub,  for  instance, 
the  males  exceed  the  females  sixteen  per  cent. — a  fear- 
ful revelation  ;  but  it  is  just  the  same  in  many  parts  of 
China.  All  authorities  agree  that  male  children  are 
tenderly  cared  for,  and  even  desired.  This  is  especially 
so  in  China,  for  no  greater  evil  can  befall  a  Chinaman 
than  the  absence  of  sons  to  keep  unbroken  the  worship 
of  ancestors.  Death  is  nothing  if  he  passes  away  with 
dutiful  sons  around  his  bedside  ready  to  perform  the 
sacred  rites.  To  die  without  these  is  to  send  his  soul 
forth  a  wanderer  without  claims  upon  his  gods.  The 
commercial  aspect,  however,  has  mostly  to  do  with  the 
question  in  India.  Where  is  food  for  the  little  mouths, 
to  come  from,  and  how  can  a  girl  be  reared  by  a  family 
who  live  from  day  to  day  upon  the  brink  of  starvation, 
even  when  every  member  labors  like  a  slave  ? 

One  morning  we  drove  to  the  jail — one  of  the  sights 
of  India — and  were  fortunate  in  meeting  the  Inspector- 
General,  Mr.  Walker,  an  authority  on  all  matters  relat- 
ing to  prison  discipline,  and  Dr.  Tyler,  the  Chief  for 
Agra.  These  officials  kindly  conducted  us  through  the 
vast  establishment.     The  prison  labor  is  not,  as  gener- 


•  

The  Agra  Prison.  241 

ally  with  us,  contracted  out — a  vicious  plan  which  ne- 
cessitates the  intercourse  of  outsiders  with  the  criminals 
and  invariably  leads  to  bad  results.  Here  the  prisoners 
deal  with  none  but  their  keepers  ;  but  what  pleased  me 
most  was  the  admirable  system  of  rewards  and  promo- 
tions for  good  conduct  which  has  been  established. 
Marks  are  given  and  worn  upon  the  clothes  which 
shorten  one's  sentence  from  one  day  up  to  several,  and 
it  is  possible  for  a  prisoner  in  this  way  to  acquire  marks 
enough  to  take  as  much  as  one  tenth  from  his  imprison- 
ment. The  best  behaved  of  all  can  rise  to  the  position 
of  wardens.  Several  hundreds  have  reached  this  prize, 
and  are  distinguished  by  better  clothing,  and  also  by 
ornamental  badges.  These  wardens  are  placed  over  the 
other  malefactors,  and  there  is  no  difficulty  experienced 
in  enforcing  the  strictest  discipline  through  them.  Fore- 
men of  shops  and  of  the  various  departments  are  all 
appointed  from  among  the  prisoners  themselves,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  the  one  in  charge  of  the  compli- 
cated machinery,  there  are  no  others  employed  in  such 
capacities.  The  armed  guards  are,  however,  not  of  this 
class.  In  ordinary  years  the  cost  of  maintenance  per 
person  is  one  rupee  a  month  (40  cents  gold) ;  clothing  75  , 
cents  a  year,  including  cost  of  supervision  and  all  ex- 
penses of  the  jail  department ;  prisoners  in  India  thus 
cost  only  about  $14  per  year  each.  This  prison  main- 
tains itself  by  the  labor  of  its  inmates,  and  last  year 

showed  an  actual  profit  of  about  $40,000.    Twenty-three 
16 


242  Round  the   Woj'ld. 

hundred  prisoners  were  confined  within  its  walls  when 
we  were  there.  The  total  number  of  inmates  of  the 
jail  in  this  and  the  Northwest  Province  is  just  now 
39,000 ;  but  last  year,  owing  to  the  famine,  the  number 
rose  to  42,000.  This  seems  a  great  number,  but  I  am 
informed  that,  taking  the  population  into  account,  it  is 
not  quite  up  to  the  average  in  England.  We  saw  the 
prisoners  working  the  celebrated  Agra  jail  carpets  and 
rugs,  for  which  there  is  such  demand  that  orders  given 
to-day  cannot  be  filled  for  many  months.  A  new  build- 
ing has  just  been  erected  and  filled  with  looms  to  in- 
crease the  supply.  Native  dyes  and  materials  alone  are 
used,  and  one  can  thus  rest  assured  that  a  carpet 
obtained  here  is  genuine  throughout.  France  takes  the 
finest  qualities,  and  we  saw  some  so  fine  that  the  day's 
task  of  men  sitting  as  close  as  they  could  the  entire 
width  of  the  web  was  only  one  inch  per  day.  These 
carpets,  which  are  really  works  of  art,  cost  here  $10 
gold  per  square  yard,  and  certainly  not  less  than  double 
that  when  retailed  in  Paris.  Of  the  inmates  about  one 
hundred  were  women,  their  special  crime  being  that  of 
child-stealing,  which  is  very  common  in  India,  the  orna- 
ments worn  by  the  little  ones  being  a  strong  tempta- 
tion. We  saw  two  young  lads  sentenced  for  life  for 
this  crime.  They  had  stolen  and  robbed  a  child,  and 
afterward  thrown  the  body  into  a  well.  We  left  Messrs. 
Walker  and  Tyler  strongly  imbued  with  the  feeling  that 
we  had  seen  the  model  prison  of  the  world  in  Agra  jail. 


Land  Qttcstion  in  India.  243 

India  gives  us  valuable  hints  upon  the  land  ques- 
tion. There  is  no  private  tenure;  at  least  it  is  not 
general,  for  when  one  speaks  of  a  continent  with  two 
hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  people  possessed  of 
different  customs  it  is  unsafe  to  say  that  anything  does 
not  exist.  Speaking  generally,  the  land  of  India  be- 
longs to  village  communities  in  which  every  family  has 
its  right.  The  State  first  taxes  a  certain  portion  of  the 
produce.  Akbar  the  first  Mogul  fixed  it  at  one-third  of 
the  gross  amount,  which  the  head  man  of  each  village 
was  required  first  to  set  apart  for  government.  The 
remainder  was  divided  among  the  community.  For 
untold  generations  these  village  communities  have  pre- 
served intact  their  traditions,  which  neither  anarchy 
nor  conquest  have  abolished.  Unfortunately  the  Eng- 
lish in  the  early  days  were  disposed  to  introduce  their 
system  of  landlord  and  tenant,  and  in  the  Bengal 
province  this  has  led  to  infinite  trouble.  Men  had 
arisen  there  who  undertook  the  collection  of  the  land 
tax  of  a  district  and  paid  the  government  an  agreed- 
upon  sum.  They  were  in  fact  contractors  (Zemindars) ; 
this  was  certainly  the  easiest  mode  for  the  British 
Government  to  obtain  the  revenue,  but  in  recognizing 
these  contractors  it  raised  them  virtually  to  the  position 
of  landlord.  The  poor  cultivator  could  not  reach  the 
government  at  all.  He  was  in  the  power  of  the  Zemin- 
dar, who  alone  dealt  with  the  authorities.  As  was  to 
have  been  expected,  the  result  was  just  as  it  has  been 


244  Round  the   World. 

found  in  Ireland.  The  Zemindars  squeezed  every  penny- 
out  of  the  poor  farmer  which  he  could  be  made  to  yield, 
until  finally  the  government  was  compelled  to  embark 
upon  that  perilous  sea,  land  legislation,  tenant  rights, 
judicial  rents,  and  all  the  rest  of  it. 

In  the  Bombay  presidency,  however,  wiser  councils 
have  prevailed.  The  cultivator  deals  directly  with  the 
government ;  has  a  lease  as  it  were  subject  to  revalua- 
tion every  thirty  years.  In  time  the  poor  cultivator 
will  no  doubt  rise  to  the  advantages  of  this  system  by  a 
process  of  natural  selection.  It  was  certain  that  many 
unfit  occupiers  would  be  found,  and  this  has  been  the 
case  so  far.  The  plan  is  bound,  however,  to  develop 
and  sustain  the  most  competent,  and  this  means  that 
it  is  the  right  plan.  The  land  yields  the  government 
twenty-two  millions  sterhng  per  annum  ($i  10,000,000). 
Had  the  land  owners  of  England  not  released  them- 
selves while  acting  as  M.  P.'s  of  the  tax  under  which 
till  then  land  was  held  by  them,  England  would  be  in 
position  to-day  to  remit  many  taxes  which  bear  heavily 
upon  the  people. 

We  had  a  talk  to-day  with  an  officer  of  the  forest 
department  of  India,  which  vainly  strives  to  save  the 
forests  from  wandering  tribes  who  practice  nomadic 
agriculture,  reaping  indeed  where  they  sow,  but  rarely 
sowing  twice  in  the  same  place,  which  is  the  difficulty. 
These  tribes  inhabit  the  hills  of  India,  and  depend  for 
food    solely   upon   crops   grown  in  the  forests.     They 


Nomadic  Agricultui^e.  245 

make  a  clearing  by  burning  the  timber  and  scatter  the 
seed,  rarely  taking  the  trouble  to  turn  up  the  soil,  al- 
though some  tribes  scratch  the  surface  with  sticks.  The 
virgin  soil  yields  forty  and  fifty  fold  of  rice  as  a  first 
crop.  This  is  gathered  and  off  go  the  gypsies  to  another 
locality  for  next  season.  The  destruction  of  timber 
upon  these  small  clearings  is  nothing,  as  our  friend  ex- 
plained, compared  to  that  caused  by  the  spread  of  the 
fires.  The  government  imposes  heavy  penalties  upon 
these  nomads,  if  discovered,  but  vast  tracts  remain 
where  no  restraint  is  possible.  He  was  on  his  way  to 
solitude  among  the  hills,  which  he  preferred  to  even 
the  plains  with  their  crowds.  But  England,  England 
some  day!  was  his  dream.  Ah,  poor  fellow  !  the  chances 
are  that  he  will  fall  and  lie  in  his  Indian  forest ;  or,  sad- 
der yet,  should  fortune  reach  him  and  he  realize  his 
dream,  that  he  would  find  life  in  England  intolerable 
and  return  to  die  here  a  disappointed  man.  We  have 
met  several  such,  and  for  no  class  am  I  so  profoundly 
sorry.  Never  to  realize  one's  life  dream  is  bad  enough, 
but  to  have  it  sent  you  and  then  find  it  naught — that 
seems  to  me  the  keenest  thrust  which  can  enter  the 
soul  of  man. 

Among  the  attractions  of  Agra  are  the  palaces  and 
tombs  of  the  Great  Moguls,  and  we  have  been  busy 
visiting  them  day  after  day.  This  was  the  capital  dur- 
ring  the  most  brilliant  period  of  that  extraordinary 
family's  reign.     The  founder,  Baber,  lies  buried  at  Ca- 


246  Round  the   World. 

bool,  which  was  the  chief  place  before  the  invaders 
penetrated  farther  south.  Six  of  these  Moguls  reigned, 
and  no  dynasty  in  history  has  six  consecutive  names  of 
equal  power  to  boast.  Hereditary  genius  has  strong 
support  in  the  careers  of  these  illustrious  men ;  besides 
this,  Baber  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Tamerlane  him- 
self, on  his  father's  side,  and  of  a  scarcely  less  able  Tar- 
tar leader  on  his  mother's  side.     So  much  for  blood. 

The  greatest  of  the  six  was  Akbar,  who  proved  to 
be  that  rare  combination,  soldier  and  statesman  in  one. 
He,  Mohammedan  by  birth,  dared  to  marry  a  Hindoo 
princess  as  an  example  for  his  people  to  follow,  but 
which,  unfortunately,  they  have  failed  to  do.  It  is 
strange  to  remember  that  the  Moguls  were  seated  on 
their  thrones  only  three  hundred  years  ago,  Akbar 
being  contemporaneous  with  Henry  VHI.,  and  ruling 
India  when  Shakespeare  was  still  on  earth. 

Six  successive  generations  of  great  men,  like  the 
Great  Moguls,  cannot  be  matched,  I  think,  elsewhere ; 
but  it  would  not  be  fair  to  attribute  this  unbroken  line 
altogether  to  the  doctrine  of  hereditary  genius.  Much 
lies  in  the  fact  that  upon  each  of  these  rulers  in  turn, 
depended  the  maintenance  and  success  of  his  empire. 
The  Moguls  were  real  powers,  indeed  the  only  powers, 
and  not  only  reigned  but  governed.  Had  the  doctrine 
of  the  divine  right  of  kings  been  overthrown  in  India 
during  the  reign  of  even  the  ablest  of  the  six,  and  the 
heir  to  the  throne  been  debarred  the  exercise  of  pov/er ; 


Palaces  of  the  Moguls.  247 

taught  from  his  infancy  that  his  role  was  to  be  wholly 
ornamental,  a  sham  king  whose  chief  end  and  use  was 
the  opening  of  fancy  bazaars  or  the  laying  of  founda- 
tion stones,  he  too  would  have  developed  into  some- 
thing suited  for  the  purpose  in  view,  just  as  heirs  ap- 
parent have  done  elsewhere.  It  was  the  continual 
exercise  of  high  functions  which  made  the  race  great 
and  kept  it  so.  To  play  the  part  of  king  when  one 
knows  himself  the  political  valet  of  his  prime  minister, 
would  soon  have  taken  manhood  out  of  Akbar  himself, 
if  we  can  imagine  such  a  man  willing  to  play  the 
part. 

I  am  not  going  to  give  a  catalogue  of  what  is  to  be 
seen  in  Agra,  having  no  notion  of  writing  a  guide-book 
or  of  filling  notes  with  long  passages  from  such  sources, 
as  I  see  many  writers  have  done ;  but  I  must  speak  of 
three  or  four  structures  which  have  pleased  me  most. 

The  "  Fort  "  is  a  most  impressive  pile  of  masonry,  a 
Warwick  Castle  upon  a  large  scale,  the  ramparts  being 
one  and  a  quarter  miles  in  circumference.  This  was 
Akbar's  principal  palace,  or  rather  series  of  palaces,  for 
it  embraces  the  Pearl  Mosque,  Public  Audience  Hall, 
and  Jessamine  Tower,  all  of  which  are  within  its  walls. 

The  tomb  of  her  father,  built  by  that  rare  woman, 
Noor  Mahal,  she  who  sleeps  in  the  Taj,  is  a  marble 
structure  of  exquisite  proportions,  and  quite  unlike 
others  because  of  the  great  number  and  extent  of  the 
perforated  screens  of  marble  of  which  it  is  principally 


248  Roiind  the    World, 

composed.  Up  to  the  time  we  had  seen  this  I  think  I 
hked  it  the  best  of  any ;  but  then  Noor  Mahal  had  built 
it  for  her  father,  and  I  was  predisposed  to  like  this 
proof  of  her  filial  devotion. 

There  is  one  romantic  and  perfect  love  story  con- 
cerning her  in  the  annals  of  the  Moguls.  Akbar's  son, 
the  future  ruler,  fell  desperately  in  love  with  a  young 
lady,  but  for  reasons  of  state  she  was  not  eligible,  and 
the  emperor  quietly  provided  a  husband  for  her  in  the 
person  of  one  of  his  generals.  The  young  heir  only 
knew  that  she  was  married  and  he  condemned  to  take 
to  wife  the  woman  provided  for  him.  Two  years  after 
he  had  become  emperor  the  husband  of  his  first  love 
died,  and  although  she  was  then  a  middle-aged  woman, 
he,  the  emperor,  sought  her  out  and  not  only  married 
her  (she  could  have  been  his  slave),  but  raised  her  to 
the  throne  with  himself,  stamping  her  image  with  his 
own  upon  the  coin  of  the  realm.  Such  an  unbounded 
influence  did  this  capable  and  high-spirited  woman  ac- 
quire over  not  only  her  devoted  husband  but  the  circle 
of  the  court,  that  she  became  the  constant  adviser  in  all 
important  affairs ;  and  that  she  might  not  be  less  thor- 
oughly feminine,  I  am  glad  to  see  it  recorded  that  she 
introduced  improved  modes  of  dress  and  manners 
among  her  ladies.  The  emperor  told  his  priests  one  day 
that  until  he  had  married  this  paragon  he  had  not  known 
what  marriage  meant.  But  her  grandest  achievement  is 
yet  to  be  told.     The  emperor  had  previously  been  dis- 


Noor  Mahal.  249 

solute,  probably  from  his  first  pure  dream  of  love  hav- 
ing been  so  cruelly  dispelled — who  knows  ? — but  Noor 
Mahal  lifted  him  into  higher  regions,  and  made  him  a 
better  man.     She  loved  him   fervently,  and,  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  when  the  emperor  was  attacked,  she 
imperilled  her  own  life  to  save  his.     As  they  grew  old 
they  became  more  and  more  to  each  other,  and  at  her 
death  was  it  any  wonder  the  emperor  ordered  that  a 
tomb  should  rise  excelling  all  previous  tombs  as  much, 
if  possible,  as  Noor  Mahal  excelled  all  other  women  ? 
This  tomb,  the  Taj  Mahal  (Diadem  Tomb),  is  said  to 
have  cost  more  than  two   millions   sterling,  which    is 
equal  to  an  expenditure  of  fifty  millions  of  dollars  with 
us   to-day.     Truly  a   costly  monument,  you  say.     No 
doubt,  but  if  it  has  given  to  mankind  one  proof  that  the 
loftiest  ideal  can  be  wrought  out  and  realized  in  prac- 
tice, the  Taj  would  be  cheap  even  if  its  erection  had 
emptied  the  Comstock  lode ;  and  there  are  men — wise 
men  too — who  affirm  that  it  performs  this  miracle  and 
inspires  them  with  the  pleasing  hope  that  in  the   far 
ages  yet  to  come  the  real  and  the  ideal  may  grow  closer 
together.     The  emperor  built  no  tomb  for  himself,  as 
was  customary,  but  as  the  kind  fates  decreed,  he  was 
placed  side  by  side  with  her  who  had  been  to  him  so 
much,  and  they  rest  together,  under  the  noblest  canopy 
ever  made  by  human  hands.     Taking  into  account  the 
degraded  position  accorded  to  women,  and  remembering 
to  what  Noor  Mahal  raised  herself,  I  think  she  must  be 


250  Rotmd  the    V/oidd. 

allowed  to  rank  as  the  greatest  woman  who  ever 
reigned,  and  perhaps  the  greatest  who  ever  lived,  for  no 
one  has  climbed  from  such  a  depth  to  such  a  height  as 
she,  as  far  as  I  know.  Assuming  that  Cleopatra  was  all 
that  Shakespeare  has  made  her  for  us,  a  human  being 
of  whom  it  could  be  truly  said 

"  Age  cannot  wither  nor  custom  stale  her  infinite  variety," 

yet  the  Egyptian  was  born  to  the  purple,  a  queen  recog- 
nized by  her  nation,  and  entitled  to  rule  from  the  first. 
What  was  this  general's  daughter  in  India?  A  woman, 
to  begin  with,  which  in  India  meant  an  inferior  being, 
and  yet  she  rose  to  equality  with  the  Mogul  and  v/as 
consulted  upon  affairs  of  state — not  simply  because  she 
was,  in  a  bad  sense,  the  ruler's  favorite,  but  by  the  inher- 
ent force  of  her  own  abilities. 

Akbar's  Tomb  amazes  one  by  its  gigantic  size,  which 
dwarfs  all  other  tombs.  The  amount  of  inlaid  work, 
composed  of  jasper,  carnelian,  and  other  precious  stones, 
seen  at  every  step,  inclines  one  to  believe  that  it  cost 
the  fabulous  sum  stated.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  it  was  the  custom  among  these  monarchs  always  to 
erect  during  their  lives  a  palace  in  which  great  cere- 
monies took  place  while  they  lived,  and  which  became 
their  tomb  at  their  death.  A  similar  custom  prevailed 
in  Egypt,  where  each  ruler  began  a  pyramid  when  he 
began  his  reign.  It  was  in  this  way  that  so  many 
splendid  structures  were  built.     Akbar  did  not  live  to 


Tomb  of  Akbar.  251 

see  this  vast  building  completed,  but  his  son  carried  on 
the  work.  The  stern  simplicity  of  Akbar's  tomb,  which 
is  in  the  centre  of  the  building  and  under  ground,  pleased 
me.  It  is  a  plain  solid  block  of  marble,  without  one 
word  upon  it,  or  mark  of  any  kind  ;  as  if  it  would  say  to 
all  time.  What  need  to  tell  the  world  that  the  great 
Akbar  lies  here  ? 

Speaking  generally,  the  palaces  and  tombs  of  Agra 
are  far  finer  than  I  had  imagined  them  to  be,  and  the 
relief  experienced  in  getting  away  from  the  plaster 
shams  of  Lucknow — cheap  magnificence,  to  genuine 
grandeur  at  Agra — can  be  easily  imagined. 

Our  train  having  been  delayed  in  reaching  Agra,  we 
had  arrived  too  late  to  visit  the  Taj  by  moonlight  ;  and 
in  deference  to  the  strong  remonstrance  of  every  one 
we  have  met  here,  we  have  not  yet  attempted  to  see 
the  wonder.  "  Oh  !  don't  think,  please  don't  think  of 
seeing  the  Taj  until  the  very  last,  because,  if  you  do, 
every  thing  else  will  seem  so  coarse,"  has  been  in  sub- 
stance the  exclamation  of  every  friend.  But  now  we 
are  through  with  all  else,  and  we  start,  two  o'clock  P.M., 
February  14th,  1879.  Vandy  has  just  come  to  an- 
nounce that  our  carriage  is  ready.  Good-bye !  Am  I  to 
be  disappointed  ?  Of  course  I  am.  I  have  made  up 
my  mind  to  that,  and  having  just  had  tiffin,  and  drank  a 
whole  pint  of  bitter  beer,  I  feel  myself  quite  com- 
petent to  criticise  the  Taj  with  the  best  of  them,  and 
especially  well  fitted  just  now  to  stand  no  nonsense. 


252  Round  the    World. 

We  met  an  American  who  was  travelling  as  a  matter  of 
duty,  and  had  found,  as  far  as  travel  was  concerned,  I 
suspect,  that  he  belonged  to  the  class  represented  by 
the  grumbler  in  paradise,  whose  "  halo  didn't  fit  his 
head  exactly."  He  had  found  nothing  in  India,  he 
said,  but  a  lot  of  rubbish,  but  checked  himself  at  once, 
''except  the  Taj.  Now  that  building — that  is— per- 
fectly  satisfactory,"  as  if  he  had  ordered  a  suit  of 
clothes  from  his  tailor  and  had  nothing  to  find  fault 
with.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  just  come  across  a 
statement  "  that  stern  men,  overpowered  by  the  sight 
of  it,  have  been  known  to  burst  into  tears."  It  is  this 
miracle  of  inanimate  matter  we  are  now  to  see.  But 
here  cames  Vandy  again.  "  Come  on,  Andrew  ;  carriage 
waiting."     I'm  off — particulars  in  our  next. 


Friday  Night,  February  14. 
We  have  seen  it,  but  I  am  without  the  slightest 
desire  to  burst  into  rapturous  adjectives.  Do  not 
expect  me  to  attempt  a  description  of  it,  or  to  try  to 
express  my  feelings.  There  are  some  subjects  too 
sacred  for  analysis,  or  even  for  words,  and  I  now  know 
that  there  is  a  human  structure  so  exquisitely  fine,  or 
unearthly,  as  to  lift  it  into  this  holy  domain.  Let  me 
say  little  about  it ;  only  tell  you  that,  lingering  until 
the  sun  went  down,  we  turned  in  the  noble  gateway 
which  forms  a  frame  through  which  you  see  the  Taj  in 
the  distance,  with  only  the  blue  sky  in  the  background, 


The   Taj  Mahal.  253 

around  and  above  it,  and  there  took  our  last  fond  sad 
farewell,  as  the  shades  of  night  were  wrapping  the 
lovely  jewel  in  their  embrace,  as  if  it  were  a  charge  too 
sweetly  precious  not  to  be  safely  enveloped  in  night's 
black  mantle,  till  it  could  again  shine  forth  at  the  dawn 
in  all  its  beauty  to  adorn  the  earth.  Full  in  its  face  we 
gazed.  How  kindly  it  seemed  to  look  upon  us  !  And  as 
one  parts  for  the  last  time  from  one  whose  eye  glistens 
at  his  glance,  we  turned  never  to  look  upon  the  Taj 
again,  hiding  our  eyes  as  the  carriage  rolled  away,  lest 
by  any  mischance  a  partial  view  should  intrude  to  mar 
the  perfect  image  our  mind  has  grasped  to  tarry  with 
us  forever.  We  had  been  so  deliciously  sad,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  thrillingly  but  yet  so  solemnly  happy  for 
hours,  and  now  came  pain  alone,  the  inevitable  finale  to 
all  our  joys  on  earth — the  parting  forever.  But  till  the 
day  I  die,  amid  mountain  streams  or  moonlight  strolls  in 
the  forest,  wherever  and  whenever  the  mood  comes, 
when  all  that  is  most  sacred,  most  elevated,  and  most 
pure  recur  to  shed  their  radiance  upon  the  tranquil 
mind,  there  will  be  found  among  my  treasures  the 
memory  of  that  lovely  charm — the  Taj. 

We  had  engaged  to  meet  some  friends  at  the  club 
as  we  drove  homeward,  but  was  it  any  wonder  that 
neither  of  us  remembered  this  until  the  stoppage  of  the 
carriage  at  our  hotel  awoke  us  from  our  reveries !  What 
was  to  be  done?  Vandy's  reply  expressed  our  condi- 
tion exactly :  "  Go  out  to  enjoy  myself  when  I  feel  that 


2  54  Round  the    World. 

I  want  to  go  and  put  on  mourning  !  I  couldn't  do  it." 
And  we  didn't.  Our  friends  will  please  accept  this 
intimation. 

In  reading  these  pages  at  home  so  long  after  the 
visit  one  can  bring  one's  self  to  be  a  little  prosaic  in 
regard  to  this  marvel,  and  tell  his  readers  just  what  the 
Taj  is.  As  before  stated,  it  is  the  structure  erected  by 
the  Emperor  Jehanghir  in  memory  of  that  paragon 
Noor  Mahal.  That  a  tomb  should  be  erected  at  all  for 
a  woman  in  India  is  of  itself  significant,  to  begin  with, 
and  the  Roman  Emperor  who  put  his  horse's  head  upon 
the  coin  and  who  is  supposed  to  have  consulted  him  in 
political  affairs  did  not  take  a  much  wider  departure 
from  custom  than  did  this  true  lover  when  he  put  upon 
the  coin  a  woman's  image  with  his  own. 

The  Taj  is  built  of  a  light  creamy  marble,  so  that  it 
does  not  chill  one  as  pure  cold  white  marble  does.  It 
is  warm  and  sympathetic  as  a  woman.  One  great  critic 
has  finely  called  the  Taj  a  feminine  structure.  There  is 
nothing  masculine  about  it,  says  he ;  its  charms  are  all 
feminine.  This  creamy  marble  is  inlaid  with  fine  black 
marble  lines,  the  entire  Koran  in  Arabic  letters,  it  is 
said,  being  thus  interwoven. 

The  following  description  is  condensed  from  Fergus- 
son  :  The  enclosure,  which  includes  an  inner  and  an  outer 
court,  the  whole  about  a  fifth  of  a  mile  wide,  extends 
along  the  banks  of  the  Jumna  River  one-third  of  a  mile. 
The  principal  gateway,  opening  into  the  inner  court,  is 


The  Taj  Mahal.  255 

a  hundred  and  forty  feet  high  by  a  hundred  and  ten 
feet  wide.  The  mausoleum  stands  in  the  centre  of  a 
raised  marble  platform,  eighteen  feet  high,  and  exactly 
three  hundred  and  thirteen  feet  square.  At  each  angle 
of  this  terrace  rises  a  minaret,  a  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  feet  high,  and  of  exquisite  proportions,  "  more 
beautiful,  perhaps,"  says  Ferguson,  "  than  any  other  in 
India."  The  mausoleum  itself  is  a  square  of  one 
hundred  and  eighty-six  feet,  with  the  corners  cut  off 
to  the  extent  of  about  thirty-four  feet.  In  the  centre 
is  the  principal  dome,  fifty-eight  feet  in  diameter,  and 
eighty  feet  high,  and  at  each  angle  is  a  smaller  dome 
surmounting  a  two-story  apartment,  about  twenty-seven 
feet  in  diameter. 

The  light  to  the  central  apartment  is  admitted 
through  double  screens  of  white  marble  trellis-work  of 
the  most  exquisite  designs.  In  any  climate  but  that  of 
India  this  would  produce  darkness  within,  but  here,  in 
a  building  constructed  wholly  of  white  marble,  it  serves 
to  temper  the  glare  of  the  blinding  light.  No  words 
can  express  the  chastened  beauty  of  that  dim  religious 
light,  the  unearthly  effect  of  the  subdued  sunshine, 
sparkling  now  and  then  upon  the  brilliant  stones  of 
which  the  graceful  mosaics,  vines  and  flowers  are  com- 
posed. Twenty  thousand  workmen  are  said  to  have 
been  employed  upon  this  marvel  for  twenty-two  years. 
I  would  think  the  time  and  labor  and  money  bestowed 
upon  it  well  spent  had  it  been  twenty  times — aye,  a 


256  Round  the    World. 

hundred  times — as  great.     There  is  no  price  too  dear  to 
pay  for  perfection. 

The  mosaics  of  the  interior  are  exquisitely  grace- 
ful. Flowers  and  fruits  are  represented  by  precious 
stones,  formerly  genuine  stones,  but  these  having  been 
stolen  by  the  Jats  and  others,  have  been  replaced 
by  glass,  colored  to  represent  the  originals.  In 
the  centre  of  the  dome  lie  Noor  Mahal  and  Jehang- 
hir  side  by  side,  this  being,  I  believe,  the  only  in- 
stance where  any  emperor  of  India  has  condescended 
to  be  buried  by  the  side  of  a  woman.  The  sweetest 
echo  in  the  known  world  answers  a  call  at  the 
side  of  this  tomb.  Of  course  the  architect  could 
not  have  had  this  attraction  in  view  when  he  planned 
the  structure,  and  the  natives  who  throng  this  unique 
gem  of  architecture  do  well  to  ascribe  this  apparent 
voice  from  heaven  to  the  continual  presence  and  ap- 
proval of  the  good  gods  who  like  to  linger  over  the 
tomb  of  true  lovers. 

The  guide  steps  forward  without  a  word  of  warning 
and  raises  the  cry,  "■  Great  is  God,  and  Mohammed  is 
his  prophet !  Allah  !  Allah  !  "  At  first  three  distinct  musi- 
cal notes  are  heard  in  the  echo ;  I  mean  different  notes 
upon  the  musical  scale,  as  distinct  from  each  other  as 
"  do,  sol,  do."  These  reverberate  round  the  dome  and 
ascend  until  they  reach  the  smaller  dome,  where  they 
reunite  and  escape  from  the  temple  as  one  tone.  Some 
readers  may  recall  the  echo  in  the  baptistery  at  Pisa,  as 


The   Taj  Mahal.  257 

we  did  when  we  heard  this  new  delight  in  the  Taj,  but 
that  echo  compares  with  this,  well,  say  as  the  Taj  com- 
pares to  Milan  Cathedral — and  now  I  repent  me  for 
comparing  the  Taj  to  any  other  material  structure.  It 
is  not  proper  to  do  so.  We  shall  say  as  the  piano 
compares  with  the  organ. 

If  I  am  ever  sentenced  to  hard  labor  for  life  for  some 
unlawful  outburst  of  my  wild  republicanism,  I  will 
make  one  request  as  I  throw  myself  upon  the  mercy  of 
the  court :  Let  me  be  transported  to  India,  and  allowed 
to  perform  my  daily  task  in  beautifying  and  preserving 
the  Taj.  This  would  be  a  labor  of  love,  and  I  should 
not  be  unhappy  with  my  idol  to  worship,  doing  my  part 
to  hand  it  down  untarnished  to  future  generations. 

The  Taj  is  really  a  very  large  temple,  yet  such  is  its 
grace,  its  exquisite  proportions,  its  unapproachable 
charm — it  never  occurs  to  the  beholder  that  it  is  of 
such  great  size.  It  is  neither  big  nor  little,  nor  heavy 
nor  light — it  is  simply  perfect.  You  can't  tell  why  it 
is  perfect,  and  you  don't  want  to.  You  stand  and  look 
at  the  gem  through  the  great  gateway  which  serves  as  a 
frame  for  the  picture,  for  the  Taj  is  directly  in  front  of 
the  arch,  probably  five  hundred  yards  distant.  A  nar- 
row walk,  lined  on  both  sides  with  the  choicest  Indian 
plants,  leads  to  it,  but  it  is  many  minutes  before  you  can 
be  induced  to  advance.  Never  before  have  you  gazed 
upon  stone  and  lime  which  you  deemed  worthy  of  being 

called  beautiful.  All  you  have  seen  becomes  mean,  coarse, 
17 


258  Round  the   World. 

material ;  this  alone  is  entirely  worthy.  There  is  grace 
and  beauty  brought  down  to  us  from  above,  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  ideal ;  it  really  seems  an  inspiration.  Vandy 
and  I  separated  instinctively  without  a  word.  You 
want  to  be  with  the  Taj  alone,  for  it  leads  you  cap- 
tive and  invites  to  secret  communion.  I  wandered 
around  many  hours,  gazing  at  every  turn,  deliciously, 
not  joyously  happy ;  there  was  no  disposition  to  croon 
over  a  melody,  nor  any  bracing  quality  in  my  thoughts 
— not  a  trace  of  the  heroic — but  I  was  filled  with  happi- 
ness which  seemed  to  fall  upon  me  gently  as  the  snow- 
flakes  fall,  as  the  zephyr  comes  when  laden  with  sweet 
odors.  I  sat  down  at  length  in  the  garden  in  full  view  of 
the  Taj,  but  had  not  rested  long  before  an  Englishman 
approached,  and  something  in  our  faces  telling  that  we 
were  both  in  the  blissful  state  and  the  worshipful 
mood,  he  came  and  sat  down  quietly,  without  speak- 
ing a  word,  but  with  a  slight  and  slow  nod  of  recogni- 
tion, and  broke  out  without  one  word  of  introduction 
— partly  as  if  talking  to  himself — as  follows : 

"  I  stayed  away  from  this  in  England  as  long  as  I 
could.  It  is  seven  years  since  I  was  here  before.  I 
have  been  here  for  two  weeks  wandering  about  the 
grounds  ;  I  must  tear  myself  away  to-morrow  and  my 
great  grief  is,  that  I  know  that  I  cannot  take  and  carry 
with  me  a  perfect  image — of  that — and  so  I  may  have 
to  return  again."  I  said  that  my  feeling  was  the  re- 
verse, for  I  felt  that  its  image  could  never  leave  me. 


The   Taj  Mahal.  259 

He  envied  me  that,  he  said.  I  have  often  regretted 
that  I  did  not  get  the  name  and  address  of  this  worthy- 
devotee,  but  under  the  spell  of  the  spirit  neither  he  nor 
I  cared  much  for  other  companionship  ;  but  should  this 
ever  meet  his  eye  surely  he  will  address  me  and  per- 
haps we  may  shake  hands  in  silence  over  the  memory 
of  our  idol. 

It  began  to  grow  dark  at  length,  and  I  thought  of 
finding  Vandy  to  tell  him — for  no  apology  seemed 
necessary — that  I  could  not  possibly  resist  the  spell 
which  had  carried  me  away  even  from  him  all  the  af- 
ternoon. I  was  at  once  relieved,  for  I  found  him  in 
the  archway.  He  was  first  to  speak.  "  A.  C,"  he  said, 
"  I'm  very  sorry.  I  know  I  ought  to  have  looked  for 
you  long  ago,  but  really  I  could  not  leave  this  spot. 
Look !  there  is  no  place  like  this."  So  it  was  all  right. 
When  one  is  called  upward  by  the  spirit,  even  the 
dearest  of  humanity  must  be  left  behind.  But  Vandy 
was  in  the  right  place  certainly  for  one  to  take  his  fare- 
well. If  ever  an  inanimate  object  spoke  to  man,  the 
Taj  did  to  me  when  I  said  farewell ;  the  tear  was  not 
alone  in  the  eye  of  the  beholder  as  he  took  his  last  fond 
look,  for  that  spiritual  face  of  the  Taj  seemed  to  beam 
kindly  in  return.  It  said — yes,  smile,  reader,  if  you  will — 
I  know  it  said,  "  This  is  not  farewell,  for  we  understand 
each  other."  There  never  is  a  farewell  between  souls 
completely  sympathetic.  They  live  forever  in  the  bonds 
of  a  sacred  friendship  which  separation   cannot  break. 


26o  Rotmd  the    World. 

Delhi,  Sunday,  February  i6. 
Delhi  at  last — the  Rome  of  Asia  !  Baber  established 
his  capital  in  Agra,  a  hundred  and  forty  miles  south, 
and  therefore  farther  into  India,  but  his  son  Humayun 
returned  to  Delhi  because  the  summer  heats  of  Agra 
were  found  to  be  insupportable.  But  it  had  before 
been  the  principal  seat  of  the  Pathans  or  Afghan 
kings,  and,  back  of  them,  of  several  Hindoo  dynasties. 
There  are  ruins  of  palaces  and  forts  here  dating  to 
one  hundred  years  before  Christ,  and  for  eighteen 
hundred  years  we  have  the  ruins  of  the  structures  of 
the  kings  of  Delhi  and  their  most  noted  subordinates, 
comprising  prime  ministers,  favorite  slaves,  barbers, 
architects,  etc.  For  eleven  miles  along  the  Imperial 
Way,  on  both  sides,  these  ruins  stretch,  ending  in  the 
Kuttub  Minar,  the  glory  of  Delhi,  as  the  Taj  is  of  Agra. 
This  is  a  tower  standing  alone,  two  hundred  and  forty 
feet  in  height,  fifty  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and 
tapering  to  nine  feet  at  the  top.  But  pictures  and  pho- 
tographs have  made  all  familiar  with  this  superb  monu- 
ment. It  and  the  tomb  of  Humayun,  father  of  the 
great  Akbar,  alone  remain  vividly  impressed  upon  my 
memory,  A  ruin  now  and  then  is  acceptable,  but  eleven 
miles  of  them  in  one  or  two  days  are  rather  embarrassing, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  examine  them  in  detail  and  retain 
interest  in  the  work  ;  besides  this,  a  great  similarity 
pervades  the  mass.  It  seems  to  me  the  entire  popula- 
tion must  have  been  oppressed  to  the  last  degree,  and 


The   Thugs.  261 

every  surplus  penny  secured  in  some  way  to  be  expend- 
ed in  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  these  palaces, 
and  for  the  support  of  the  classes  who  occupied  them. 

One  most  important  department  of  government  in 
the  management  of  a  conquered  race  is  that  of  its  police 
and  intelligence  bureau,  and  this  is  admirably  adminis- 
tered in  India.  A  special  department  was  organized 
years  ago,  and  specially  gifted  officers  of  the  army 
placed  at  its  head.  To  the  present  chief,  Major  Hen- 
derson, whose  face  we  see  in  all  the  photographs  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  party,  we  are  deeply  indebted  for 
Indian  items.  This  department  has  almost  succeeded  in 
stamping  out  the  Thugs,  and  it  is  very  seldom  that  mur- 
ders are  now  committed  by  these  religious  fanatics. 
Their  goddess  Kali  demanded  blood,  but  she  was  fastid- 
ious ;  nothing  but  human  blood  would  meet  her  tastes, 
and  so  her  devotees  strangled  and  waylaid  and  shot  the 
victims  marked  out  for  sacrifice.  Some  Thugs  con- 
fessed to  between  seventy  and  eighty  murders,  and  one 
to  the  incredible  number  of  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
two  (what  saints  they  would  make  !  ).  The  members  of 
the  sect  were  classified  into  spies,  stranglers,  and  grave- 
diggers,  the  spies  being  in  the  first  stage  and  not  rank- 
ing with  the  two  more  advanced  degrees.  Assuming 
usually  the  garb  of  merchants  or  pilgrims,  they  often 
craved  the  protection  of  their  intended  victims.  Their 
favorite  instrument  for  strangulation  was  a  handker- 
chief, in  the  use  of  which  they  were  most  expert.     The 


262  Round  the   World. 

secret  that  these  wretches  were  linked  together  as  a  re- 
ligious fraternity,  bound  by  all  the  hopes  of  future  bliss 
and  the  terrors  of  eternal  damnation  as  they  satisfied  or 
failed  to  satisfy  the  craving  of  their  horrible  gods  for 
human  blood,  was  not  discovered  until  about  a  half 
century  ago.  The  government  purchased  the  secret 
with  the  names  and  address  of  every  member  and  rela- 
tive of  a  member  of  the  sect,  arrested  them  all  in  1837 
and  colonized  them  at  Jubbulpore,  where  they  were 
taught  trades.  Their  names  and  those  of  their  descend- 
ants remain  on  the  list  of  persons  suspect,  and  should 
Thugism  ever  show  its  head  again,  the  presence  of  any 
member  near  the  scene  of  the  offence  would  be  held 
almost  conclusive  evidence  against  him. 

The  Major's  department  has  on  its  records  the 
names  and  descriptions  of  more  than  four  thousand  of 
these  people,  and  also  of  nearly  nine  thousand  profes- 
sional gang  robbers.  Murder  has  been  done  when  the 
booty  did  not  exceed  six  cents.  But  the  systematic 
hunting  down  of  these  dangerous  classes  is  fast  ridding 
India  of  this  curse.  If  a  man  will  murder  another  for 
a  sixpence  he  can  be  induced  to  betray  his  fellow-murder- 
ers for  a  moderate  sum.  Is  it  not  a  blessing  for  the  race 
that  evil  disintegrates  ?  Only  for  good  ends  can  men 
permanently  combine ;  then  no  feared  betrayal  works 
dismay.  As  great  movements,  whether  for  good  or  evil, 
require  many  supporters,  society  has  its  safe-guard; 
nothing  really  good  can  be  destroyed  by  conspirators. 


Fort  at  Delhi.  263 

The  fort  at  Delhi  resembles  in  its  general  features 
that  of  Agra,  but  is  famous  as  having  been  the  recepta- 
cle of  the  Peacock  Throne,  which  was  valued  by  a 
French  jeweller  at  not  less  than  six  millions  sterling,  say- 
thirty  millions  of  dollars.  On  such  a  precious  pedestal 
as  this  the  Moguls  sat  and  ruled  this  land.  The  throne 
was  plundered  of  its  jewels  by  the  Persians,  but  its 
frame  is  still  shown  in  the  local  museum.  The  fort  re- 
mains in  an  unusually  good  state  of  preservation,  mak- 
ing it  by  far  the  most  satisfactory  specimen  of  the  gor- 
geous residences  of  the  Moguls  that  we  have  seen.  The 
walls  are  of  marble,  inlaid  in  the  interior  with  genuine 
precious  stones  of  various  colors  worked  into  the  forms 
of  vines  and  flowers  for  a  height  of  about  six  feet.  The 
floors  are  similarly  decorated.  The  upper  portions  of 
the  walls  have  the  same  patterns,  but  these  are  painted, 
not  inlaid.  Every  part  is  gilded  in  the  most  elaborate 
manner,  and,  in  short,  here  alone  of  all  places  that  I 
have  seen,  one  could  fancy  himself  wandering  through 
the  resplendent  wonders  of  the  Arabian  Nights. 

Of  course  we  did  not  neglect  the  many  places  ren- 
dered historical  by  the  mutiny.  These  are  seen  upon 
every  side  in  this  district,  but  none  was  more  interest- 
ing to  me  than  the  Cashmere  Gate.  The  rebels  held 
the  fort,  and  it  was  determined  to  assault  it.  Here  is 
the  record  of  the  men  who  volunteered  to  lay  the  train 
to  the  Gate : 

"  Salkfied  laid  his  bags,  but  was  shot  through  the 


264  Round  the   World. 

arm  and  leg,  and  fell  back  on  the  bridge,  handing  the 
portfire  to  Sergeant  Burgess,  bidding  him  light  the  fuse. 
Burgess  was  instantly  shot  dead  in  the  attempt.  Ser- 
geant Carmichael  then  advanced,  took  up  the  portfire, 
and  succeeded  in  the  attempt,  but  immediately  fell  mor- 
tally wounded.  Sergeant  Smith,  seeing  him  fall,  ad- 
vanced at  a  run,  but  finding  that  the  fuse  was  already 
burning,  threw  himself  into  the  ditch." 

The  age  of  miracles  is  admittedly  past,  but  it  is 
certain  that  the  age  of  heroes  existed  in  1857. 

The  finest  mosque  in  Delhi,  and  one  of  the  finest  in 
the  world,  is  the  Jumma  Musjid.  We  happened  to  visit 
it  just  as  the  priests  were  calling  the  faithful  to  prayer, 
which  they  do  by  ascending  to  the  foot  of  the  minarets 
and  turning  toward  Mecca  and  there  chanting  the  call. 
Numerous  worshippers  came,  and  having  washed  in  the 
pool,  went  to  the  Mosque  and  began  their  worship  on 
their  knees.  Our  guide  was  a  Mohammedan,  and  I 
asked  him  what  a  good  man  is  required  to  do  daily  in 
the  way  of  external  worship.  Here  is  the  programme 
as  he  gave  it  to  me :  Five  times  each  day  he  washes 
hands  and  feet  and  prays;  first  in  the  morning  when  he 
rises,  and  then  at  one,  four,  after  sunset,  and  before  he 
goes  to  bed,  repeating  the  prayer  to  Allah  and  some 
words  from  the  Koran,  and  touching  the  ground  with 
his  forehead  no  less  than  thirty-eight  times  during  the 
day.  This  must  be  done  every  day,  Saturday  and  Sun- 
day alike.   The  prayers  are  simple  exclamations  reciting 


Railways  in  India.  265 

the  greatness  of  God  and  the  insignificance  of  his  ser- 
vants, and  ask  for  nothing.  How  very  close  to  their 
daily  Hves  must  this  constant  appeal  at  short  intervals, 
through  each  day,  bring  the  Unknown,  unless,  as  is  said 
to  be  the  case,  it  becomes  a  more  matter  of  form,  fa- 
miliarity breeding  contempt. 


Saugor,  Great  Peninsular  Railway,  February  ig. 
We  are  now  en  route  to  Bombay  from  Delhi,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  thirteen  hundred  miles.  We  have  been 
two  nights  in  our  sleeping-car,  and  shall  spend  the  night 
on  the  line  and  reach  Bombay  in  the  morning.  General 
Grant  just  passed  us  going  toward  Calcutta,  but  there 
was  no  chance  for  us  to  get  at  him  to  shake  hands  in 
India.  This  is  the  Pacific  Railway  of  India,  connect- 
ing Calcutta  and  all  the  eastern  portion  with  the  western 
coast,  upon  which  Bombay  is  situated.  The  time  be- 
tween Calcutta  and  England  has  been  shortened  al- 
most a  whole  week  by  its  construction.  The  railways 
of  India,  of  which  there  are  at  present  about  nine 
thousand  miles  in  operation,  were  principally  con- 
structed under  a  guarantee  of  five  per  cent,  by  the 
Indian  Government,  and  some  of  them  yield  more 
than  that  already.  In  a  short  time  there  will  be  none 
that  will  remain  a  charge  upon  the  revenues.  The 
government  retained  the  right,  at  intervals  of  twenty 
or  twenty-five  years,  to  acquire  possession  and  owner- 
ship of  these  lines  upon  certain  terms,  and  at  no  dis- 


266  Round  the   World. 

tant  day  will  enjoy  large  revenues  from  its  railway 
property.  If  the  days  of  guarantees  and  subsidies  be 
not  hopelessly  gone  with  us,  here  is  an  idea  worth  con- 
sidering by  our  government.  Fancy  what  the  owner- 
ship of  the  Union  and  Central  Pacific  lines  would  mean 
as  recompense  for  the  amounts  advanced. 

The  government  has  established  several  model  farms 
in  different  provinces,  for  the  purpose  of  testing  articles 
thought  suitable  for  cultivation  in  India,  and  of  diffus- 
ing among  the  natives  improved  methods  of  agriculture. 
Such  farms  under  able  scientific  management  must 
eventually  bring  to  the  country  what  it  is  best  calculated 
to  produce.  The  success  attendant  upon  the  growth 
of  a  substitute  for  cinchona  is  significant.  India 
must  have  quinine  in  large  quantities  as  a  preventive 
of  malaria.  Experiments  prove  that  while  the  genu- 
ine article  does  not  thrive  here,  a  kindred  species, 
possessing  nearly  the  same  properties,  although  to  a 
less  degree,  will  grow  well.  This  has  been  cultivated 
in  large  quantities,  and  I  notice  that  the  medical  chief 
orders  it  to  be  used  in  all  dispensaries  where  quinine 
has  hitherto  been  required,  although  the  medical  offi- 
cers are  permitted  in  extreme  cases  to  order  the 
dearer  drug. 

We  are  now  traversing  a  level  plain,  and  as  this 
region  was  blessed  with  rain  in  season,  it  seems  much 
more  fertile  than  some  other  portions  of  the  country ; 
but  the  poorest    harvests    I    ever   saw  in  any  part  of 


Plains  of  India.  267 

America  would  be  rated  as  abundant,  here.  We  have 
seen  everywhere  herds  of  buffaloes,  bullocks,  and 
sheep  grazing  in  fields  which  seemed  to  us  entirely 
destitute  of  everything ;  not  a  green  leaf  of  any  kind 
to  be  seen,  and  we  could  not  understand  how  animals 
could  even  get  a  mouthful  of  food  in  the  brown 
parched  lands.  But  I  am  told  they  do  nibble  away 
at  the  short  stalks  and  roots  of  corn  or  sugar-cane 
left  in  the  ground  when  the  crop  was  cut,  and  in  this 
way  manage  to  eke  out  a  scanty  existence.  They 
are  at  best  little  but  skin  and  bone.  When  it  is  merely 
a  question  of  keeping  life  in  the  body,  man  and  beast 
alike  prove  that  but  little  is  required. 

While  everything  about  us  partakes  of  a  dusty 
clayey  hue,  we  must  not  forget  that  we  see  the  plains 
of  India  in  the  winter.  Let  the  blessed  Monsoon 
burst,  and  these  fields,  now  so  parched  and  dead,  are 
covered  at  once  "  as  if  the  earth  had  given  a  subter- 
ranean birth  to  heaven."  As  Roderick  Dhu's  host  rose 
up  at  the  blast  of  his  bugle,  vegetation  springs  forth, 
and  the  land  we  now  wonder  at  is  no  longer  barren, 
but  teems  with  tropical  luxuriance.  Then  come  the 
snakes  and  insects  to  poison  and  annoy.  Last  year, 
sixteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy  human 
beings  were  reported  killed  by  snakes,  while  eight  hun- 
dred and  nineteen  only  were  killed  by  tigers. 

One  has  difficulty  in  imagining  such  a  change  in  any 
land  as  is  implied  by  these  startling  figures,  for  to-day  as 


268  Rotmd'  the   World. 

we  travel  not  a  fly  nor  insect  of  any  kind  is  to  be  seen.  If 
it  were  not  for  the  intense  heat,  which  I  know  I  could 
not  endure,  I  should  like  to  spend  a  summer  in  India, 
snakes  notwithstanding,  just  to  see  so  complete  a  re- 
versal of  conditions,  for  no  matter  what  reflection  may 
do  to  tell,  as  we  see  India  only  under  winter  conditions, 
we  shall  always  have  a  bias  to  rate  it  as  the  miserable, 
barren  land  it  appears  to  us.  Travellers  should  be  on 
their  guard  against  this  tendency,  for  it  leads  to  many 
false  conclusions.  If  both  sides  of  a  question  need 
to  be  considered,  all  seasons  of  a  country  must  be  ex- 
perienced before  a  true  judgment  can  be  passed  upon  it. 
This  is  especially  true  of  India,  where  the  change  is,  as 
it  were,  from  life  to  death. 

We  see  wood-gatherers  entering  the  cities,  each  with 
a  bundle  of  sticks,  or  twigs  rather,  on  his  head,  the  re- 
sult of  the  day's  gathering — scarcely  one  of  the  sticks 
thicker  than  one's  finger,  and  the  great  bulk  of  the 
bundle  composed  of  mere  switches,  so  closely  is  every- 
thing shaven  in  crowded  Hindostan.  To-day  we  stood 
and  looked  at  a  native  who  had  led  his  goat  into  the 
country  to  pick  up  a  meal.  He  bent  the  boughs  of  small 
trees  one  after  another  so  that  the  goat  could  strip  them 
of  their  leaves.  The  poor  skeleton  was  ravenous. 
Nothing  goes  to  waste  in  India,  nor  anywhere  in  the  East. 
Garbage  and  sewage  have  value,  and  all  is  swept  clean 
and  kept  clean  in  every  hole  and  corner  in  consequence. 
This  simplifies  life  very  much.     Our  elaborate  system 


Bombay.  269 

of  underground  pipes,  our  sewers,  drains,  and  modern 
conveniences  of  all  kinds,  and  our  sanitary  arrangements 
which  are  of  such  prime  importance  to  health,  and  to 
which  we  are  fortunately  giving  so  much  more  atten- 
tion— these  the  East  wholly  escapes.  We  have  to  cure ; 
they  have  prevention.  Human  labor  at  four  or  five 
cents  per  day  (2  to  2^d.)  changes  the  conditions  of  ex- 
istence. It  pays  to  do  so  many  things  which,  under  our 
rates  for  labor,  cannot  be  thought  of.  I  have  mentioned 
that  in  Japan  the  refuse  of  all  kinds  from  a  residence  is 
not  only  taken  away  at  any  hours  each  day  one  fixes, 
but  a  small  sum  is  actually  paid  for  it,  which  the  ser- 
vants of  the  establishment  consider  a  perquisite. 


Bombay,  Thursday,  February  20. 
We  reached  this  city  on  time  this  morning,  feeling 
not  in  the  least  fatigued  by  our  three  nights  in  the 
train.  In  the  evening  we  were  fortunate  enough  to 
stroll  down  to  the  pier,  where  the  band  was  playing. 
Nowhere  have  we  seen  so  varied  a  concourse  of  people. 
The  drive  at  Calcutta  has  long  been  noted  as  excelling 
any  other  scene  in  the  gorgeousness  of  its  oriental  color- 
ing, but  this  of  the  pier  at  Bombay  surpasses  by  far 
what  we  saw  there.  Calcutta  can  boast  no  wealthy 
native  Parsees,  who  attend  here  in  large  numbers  in 
fine  equipages  with  servants  in  livery.  The  Parsee 
ladies  especially  are  resplendent  in  jewels  and  color ; 
and  the  rich  turbaned  Mohammedan  adds  to  the  va- 


270  Round  the    World. 

riety.  The  assemblage  moved  to  and  fro  among  the 
carriages  and  along  the  edges  of  the  broad  pier  chatting 
gayly,  while  the  music  seemed  to  set  everything  in  mo- 
tion. Native  boatmen  in  their  picturesque  garbs  passed 
now  and  then  plying  their  trade,  carrying  a  Sahib's 
portmanteau  or  a  lady's  bundle.  I  sat  down  and 
imagined  myself  in  the  midst  of  all  that  I  had  seen 
of  pretty  seaports  in  grand  opera,  the  ship  scene  in 
L'Africaine,  the  landing  of  Desdemona  in  the  Isle  of 
Cyprus,  the  fishermen  in  Masaniello,  and  I  thought  I 
had  never  seen  anything  of  this  description  so  pleasing. 
I  lost  Vandy  in  the  crowd,  and  sat  drinking  it  all  in  till 
dark.  Certainly  among  the  fine  things  in  the  East  is  to 
be  ranked  the  music  upon  the  Apollo  Bunder,  Bombay. 


Friday,  February  21. 
We  rose  early,  and  were  off  before  breakfast  for  a 
drive  to  the  "  Tower  of  Silence.'/  This  is  the  mountain 
top  where  the  Parsees  give  their  dead  to  be  torn  by  the 
vultures.  We  shudder  at  cremation,  but  the  sacred  fire 
of  the  funeral  pile  as  it  flames  to  heaven  has  something 
awe-inspiring  about  it.  Man  sprung  from  the  dust 
mingles  at  last  with  the  purer  element  of  fire,  and 
"  vanishes  into  air,  into  thin  air,"  leaving  no  trace  be- 
hind. But  deliberately  to  throw  our  dead  out  to  be 
torn  in  pieces  and  devoured  by  vultures — who  can  en- 
dure the  thought  !  And  yet  many  of  the  inhabitants 
here  would  be  most  unhappy  if  denied  the  consolation 


Tower  of  Silence,  271 

of  believing  that  their  bodies  were  to  be  served  in  this 
manner.  Nor  are  these  poor  and  ignorant  ;  on  the 
contrary,  next  to  the  English  they  are  the  best  edu- 
cated and  the  principal  merchants  in  the  city.  It  is 
simply  that  they  have  been  taught  in  their  youth  that 
the  earth  must  not  be  defiled  by  contact  with  the  dead. 
They  cannot  bury,  therefore,  neither  can  they  burn, 
because  fire,  one  of  the  elements,  is  sacred  ;  neither  can 
they  cast  their  dead  into  the  sea,  for  it,  too,  is  holy. 
There  seems  to  them  no  way  but  this — of  getting  the 
birds  of  the  air  to  come  and  take  the  flesh.  We  were 
received  at  the  foot  of  the  mound  by  a  Parsee  guide, 
who  conducted  us  through  every  part.  The  towers,  of 
which  there  are  five,  are  approached  by  long  flights  of 
easy  stairs.  We  entered  a  door  at  the  top,  and  the  first 
objects  which  struck  our  eyes  were  the  vultures.  They 
sat  motionless,  as  close  together  as  possible,  on  top  of 
the  wall  of  the  round  tower,  with  their  tails  toward  us  and 
their  beaks  toward  the  centre  of  the  tower  where  the 
bodies  are  placed.  The  wall  is  about  twenty  feet  high 
and  fifty  feet  in  diameter.  There  did  not  appear  to  be 
room  for  one  more  bird  upon  it,  every  inch  of  it  being  oc- 
cupied, their  bodies  almost  touching  each  other.  What 
a  revolting  coping  they  formed  to  the  otherwise  plain 
round  wall.  More  birds  were  perched  on  trees,  and  on 
the  other  towers ;  and  indeed  everywhere  we  looked  these 
disgusting  objects  met  our  viev/.  At  ten  o'clock  every 
morning  the  dead  are  taken  from  the  dead-house,  rich 


272  Round  the    World. 

and  poor  alike  being  previously  divested  of  clothing; 
and  were  we  to  revisit  the  spot  at  that  hour,  we  are  told 
the  quiet  stillness  which  pervaded  the  grove  would 
be  found  no  longer.  We  inwardly  congratulated  our- 
selves that  the  dreaded  heat  of  a  Bombay  sun  had 
sent  us  to  this  place  at  so  early  an  hour — ere  the  repast 
began — and  rapidly  withdrew.  It  isn't  much,  yet  I 
would  not  be  robbed  of  it — such  a  disposition  of  our 
dead  as  would  still  render  it  possible  for  us  to  say  with 
Laertes : 

"  Lay  her  V  the  earth; 
And  from  her  fair  and  unpolluted  flesh 
May  violets  spring." 

Hard  times  are  everywhere,  and  produce  some 
strange  changes.  The  Banyan  caste  of  Suerah  has  just 
resolved  to  abolish  caste  dinners  after  funerals,  but  if  a 
wealthy  Hindoo  still  wishes  to  indulge  in  these  affairs 
he  is  permitted  to  do  so  after  one  year  has  elapsed.  I 
fear  many  of  the  dear  departed  will  never  be  honored 
by  the  feast  after  this  interval.  At  marriages  hereafter 
only  one  feast  is  to  be  given,  instead  of  four,  which 
were  formerly  considered  the  thing.  Retrenchment  is 
the  word  even  where  caste  customs  of  long  standing  are 
involved. 

I  note  that  yesterday  a  native  was  fined  ten  rupees 
for  driving  a  lame  horse.  What  a  singular  race  he  must 
think  these  English !  Before  their  day  he  could  have 
done  what  he   liked  with  horse    or   servant,   male   or 


Gover7ime7it  of  India.  2  ']'^ 

female,  ''  because  he  bought  them,"  and  now  he  can't 
even  be  the  judge  when  to  use  his  horse.  The  more  I 
see  of  the  thoroughness  of  the  English  Government  in 
the  East — its  attention  to  the  minutest  details,  the  ex- 
ceptional ability  of  its  officials  as  evinced  in  the  excel- 
lence of  the  courts,  jails,  hospitals,  dispensaries,  schools, 
roads,  railways,  canals,  etc., — the  more  I  am  amazed.  I 
had  before  no  idea  of  what  was  implied  by  the  govern- 
ment of  India.  It  would  have  been  madness  for  any 
other  people  than  the  English  to  undertake  it.  Not 
that  we  have  not  in  America  a  class  of  men  of  equal 
organizing  power,  but  these  have  careers  at  home  open 
to  them,  and  could  not  be  induced  to  leave  their  own 
land.  Even  if  this  were  not  so,  America  requires  an 
improved  civil  service  to  bring  its  ablest  men  forward. 
I  am  sure  no  such  body  of  officials  exists  as  that  com- 
prising the  civil  service  of  India,  whether  judged  by  its 
purity  or  its  ability. 

The  British  army  has  been  reformed  of  late  years  in 
India  to  a  degree  beyond  popular  knowledge  of  the 
subject.  Every  one  agrees  in  attributing  the  spread  of 
the  great  mutiny  to  the  fact  that  there  were  at  two  or 
three  critical  points  superannuated  veterans,  unable  to 
take  before  it  was  too  late  the  most  obvious  measures 
for  its  suppression.  In  short,  it  was  here  just  as  it  was 
in  Washington  when  the  Civil  War  began.  I  remember 
seeing   General   Scott,   the    commander-in-chief,   when 

Bull  Run  was  lost,  carried  or  assisted  from  his  carriage 
18 


274  Round  the   World. 

across  the  pavement  to  his  office,  he  being  too  old  and 
infirm  to  walk.  There  were  others  scarcely  less  feeble 
in  charge  of  departments.  It  was  just  so  in  India;  but 
now  mark  the  change.  No  man  can  retain  the  com- 
mand of  a  regiment  in  the  British  army  more  than  five 
years,  nor  can  generals  serve  longer.  These  officers  re- 
tire on  pensions,  and  the  next  in  seniority  takes  his 
turn,  always  provided  he  passes  successfully  the  most 
searching  examination  at  each  successive  promotion. 
I  was  told  that  upon  a  recent  examination  only  two 
officers  out  of  thirteen  passed.  No  favoritism  is  shown, 
and  I  have  met  young  men  related  to  the  highest  offi- 
cials to  whom  it  has  been  kindly  intimated  that  another 
career  than  the  army  had  better  be  sought.  I  have  met 
many  officers,  and  the  impression  made  upon  me  is  an 
exceedingly  favorable  one.  I  do  not  believe  that  in 
case  of  war  now  the  blunder  of  those  in  command 
would  have  to  be  atoned  for  by  the  superior  fighting 
qualities  of  the  rank  and  file,  as  was  notoriously  the 
case  during  the  Crimean  War.  The  promotion  of  Gen- 
eral Wolseley  means  business.  The  Duke  of  Cambridge, 
because  he  is  a  royal  duke,  is  allowed  to  reign,  but 
Wolseley  is  to  govern. 

I  was  struck  with  the  full  length  portraits  of  the  real 
man  and  the  sham  in  last  year's  Royal  Academy.  Gen- 
eral Winfield  Scott  in  all  his  glory  was  not  more  brill- 
iant than  the  duke,  military  hat  in  hand  with  its  white 
waving  plumes,  booted  and  spurred,  his  breast  a  mass  of 


Rival  Cities.  275 

decorations,  "  Old  Fuss  and  Feathers "  over  again. 
Beside  him  was  a  man  in  plain  attire,  about  as  orna- 
mental as  General  Grant ;  but  this  was  the  man  of  war, 
one  of  those  very  rare  characters  who  does  what  there 
is  to  do — in  Egypt  as  in  Abyssinia — and  never  fails. 

Bombay  and  Calcutta  are  again  rivals  for  supremacy. 
Bombay  Island,  upon  which  Bombay  City  stands,  another 
of  the  keys  of  the  world,  was  given  to  Britain  by  Portu- 
gal as  part  of  the  dower  of  Catherine  of  Braganza  when 
she  married  Charles  II.  Think  of  a  woman  giving  any- 
thing for  the  privilege  of  marrying  such  a  wretch !  but 
so  little  was  it  esteemed  that  the  government  gave  it  in 
1688  to  the  East  India  Company  for  a  rental  of  £10  per 
annum.  It  was  subsequently  made  the  principal  seat  of 
their  power,  but  it  had  no  access  to  the  interior,  and 
Calcutta,  which  stands  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  system  of 
inland  transportation  rivalled  only  by  that  of  our 
smoky  Pittsburgh,  soon  eclipsed  it.  There  was  no 
chance  for  Bombay  against  this  natural  advantage,  and 
she  had  to  succumb ;  but  now,  since  railways  have  pene- 
trated the  interior,  and  especially  since  the  opening  of 
the  Suez  Canal  route  has  brought  Bombay  so  very 
much  nearer  to  Europe,  the  struggle  for  supremacy  has 
begun  anew.  The  European  trafific  now  goes  mainly  to 
her,  and  Calcutta  gets  her  portion  by  rail  through  her 
ancient  rival.  In  1872  the  exports  and  imports  of 
Bombay  were  ^^50,000,000,  and  those  of  Calcutta  £^i\r 
000,000 ;  so  you  see  it  is  not  going  to  be  a  walk  over  for 


276  Round  the    World. 

Calcutta,  though  her  population  still  exceeds  that  of  her 
challenger  by  about  a  hundred  thousand.  It  is  water 
vs.  rail  on  a  large  scale,  and  the  result  will  be  looked 
for  with  interest.  I  think  the  former  capital,  once  de- 
throned, will  eventually  regain  the  crown ;  but  there  is 
plenty  of  room  for  both,  and  the  rivalry  between  them 
should  be  a  generous  one. 

Bombay  is  by  far  the  finest  city  in  the  East,  but  it 
has  been  inflated  more  than  any  other,  and  is  now 
undergoing  severe  contraction.  Its  public  buildings 
would  do  credit  to  any  European  capital.  Government 
concluded  to  sell  the  land  fronting  on  the  bay,  which 
had  been  used  as  the  site  of  an  antiquated  fort,  and 
such  was  the  rage  for  speculation  at  the  time  that  five 
million  dollars'  worth  of  land  was  disposed  of  and 
enough  retained  to  give  Bombay  a  beautiful  little  park 
and  a  long  drive  along  the  beach.  Government  took 
the  money  and  erected  on  part  of  the  land  retained  the 
magnificent  buildings  referred  to.  We  met  one  gentle- 
man who  had  bought  one  hundred  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  the  new  lots,  for  which  he  admitted  he  could 
not  get  to-day  more  than  twenty  thousand  dollars.  But 
Bombay  is  only  learning  the  universal  lesson  which  the 
world  seems  to  need  to  have  repeated  every  ten  or 
twelve  years.  It  is  fortunate  that  this  city  is  our  last 
in  India,  because  it  so  far  excels  any  other.  Nowhere 
else  is  such  oriental  richness  to  be  seen.  The  colors  of 
the  masses  as  they  move  rapidly  to  and  fro  remind  you 


Sights  in  Bombay,  277 

of  the  combinations  of  the  kaleidoscope.  The  native 
women  of  the  lowest  order  work  in  gangs,  and  it  is  their 
dress  which  chiefly  brightens  the  scene.  A  dark-green 
tight-fitting  jacket,  a  magenta  mantle  festooned  about 
the  body  and  legs  in  some  very  graceful  manner  and 
reaching  to  the  knees,  the  feet  and  legs  bare  to  the 
knees,  a  purple  veil  on  the  head  but  thrown  back  over 
the  shoulders — this  is  the  dress  as  well  as  I  can  describe 
it.  The  habit  of  carrying  loads  upon  the  head  makes 
them  as  straight  as  arrows,  and  as  they  march  along 
with  majestic  stride  they  completely  eclipse  the  poor- 
looking  male,  who  seems  to  have  had  his  manhood 
ground  out  of  him  by  generations  of  oppression,  while 
his  companion  has  passed  through  subjugation  without 
losing  her  personal  dignity. 

It  seems  homelike  to  see  street  railways,  of  which 
there  are  several  prosperous  lines  here.  For  this  enter- 
prise an  American  gentleman  has  to  be  thanked.  All 
classes  ride  together,  and  caste  in  Bombay  gets  serious 
knocks  in  consequence.  From  Bombay  as  a  centre 
civilization  is  destined  to  radiate.  A  palpable  breach 
has  already  been  made  in  the  solid  walls  which  have 
hitherto  shut  India  from  the  entrance  of  new  ideas,  and 
through  this  gate  the  assaulting  columns  must  eventu- 
ally gain  possession ;  but  it  will  not  be  within  the  span 
of  men  now  living,  nor  for  several  generations  to  come. 
The  Sailors'  Home  and  the  hospitals  of  the  city  are 
highly  creditable,  and  among  the  charitable  institutions 


278  Round  the   World. 

I  must  not  forget  the  Hindoo  hospital  for  wretched 
animals,  where  some  of  each  kind  are  tenderly  cared 
for,  to  signify  the  reverence  paid  by  this  sect  to  all 
kinds  of  life,  for  the  meanest  form  is  sacred  to  them. 
We  had  a  curious  illustration  of  this  while  in  Benares 
examining  the  richest  specimens  of  the  delicate  em- 
broideries for  which  that  city  is  celebrated.  A  little 
nasty  intruder  showed  itself  on  one  of  the  finest,  and  a 
gentleman  with  us  involuntarily  reached  forth  to  kill  it, 
but  the  three  Hindoos  caught  his  arm  at  once,  and  ex- 
hibited great  anxiety  to  save  the  insect.  One  of  them 
did  get  it,  and  taking  it  to  the  window  set  it  at  liberty. 
It  was  Uncle  Toby  and  the  troublesome  fly  over  again, 
as  immortalized  by  the  genius  of  Sterne  :  "  Get  thee 
gone,  poor  devil !  there  is  room  enough  in  the  world  for 
thee  and  for  me,"  quoth  Uncle  Toby.  And  does  not 
Cowper  say — 

"  I  would  not  enter  on  my  list  of  friends 
(Though  graced  with  polish'd  manners  and  fine  sense, 
Yet  wanting  sensibility)  the  man 
Who  needlessly  sets  foot  upon  a  worm." 

Well,  these  Hindoos  wouldn't  do  it  either.  Let  them 
be  credited  accordingly,  heathen  though  they  be. 

It  begins  to  grow  too  hot  here ;  I  could  not  live  one 
season  in  India — that  I  am  convinced  of.  The  tropical 
sun  has  no  mercy,  piercing  through  thick  pith  helmet, 
white  umbrella,  and  driving  one  into  the  house.  We 
are  to  leave  none  too  soon.     This  evening  we  were  sur- 


Par  see   Worship.  279 

prised  to  see,  as  we  strolled  along  the  beach,  more  Par- 
sees  than  ever  before,  and  more  Parsee  ladies  richly- 
dressed  ;  all  seemed  wending  their  way  to  the  sea.  It 
was  the  first  of  the  new  moon,  a  period  sacred  to  these 
worshippers  of  the  elements  ;  and  here  on  the  shores  of 
the  ocean,  as  the  sun  was  sinking  in  the  sea,  and  the 
slender  silver  thread  of  the  crescent  moon  was  faintly 
shining  in  the  horizon,  they  congregated  to  perform 
their  religious  rites.  Fire  was  there  in  its  grandest 
form — the  sun — and  water  in  the  vast  expanse  of  the 
Indian  Ocean  outstretched  before  them.  The  earth 
was  under  their  feet,  and  wafted  across  the  sea  the  air 
came  laden  with  the  perfumes  of  "  Araby  the  Blest." 
Surely  no  time  nor  place  could  be  more  fitly  chosen 
than  this  for  lifting  up  the  soul  to  the  realms  beyond 
sense.  I  could  not  but  participate  with  these  worship- 
pers in  what  was  so  grandly  beautiful.  There  was  no 
music  save  the  solemn  moan  of  the  waves  as  they  broke 
into  foam  on  the  beach, 

"  With  their  ain  eerie  croon 
Working  their  appointed  work, 
And  never,  never  done." 

But  where  shall  we  find  so  mighty  an  organ,  or  so  grand 
an  anthem  ?  How  inexpressibly  sublime  the  scene 
appeared  to  me,  and  how  insignificant  and  unworthy  of 
the  Unknown  seemed  even  our  cathedrals,  "  made  with 
human   hands,"    when   compared   to    this   looking   up 


28o  Round  the   World. 

through  Nature  unto  Nature's  God  !  I  stood  and  drank 
in  the  serene  happiness  which  seemed  to  fill  the  air.  I 
have  seen  many  modes  and  forms  of  worship,  some  dis- 
gusting, others  saddening,  a  few  elevating  when  the 
organ  pealed  forth  its  tones,  but  all  poor  in  comparison 
to  this.  Nor  do  I  ever  expect  in  all  my  life  to  witness 
a  religious  ceremony  which  will  so  powerfully  affect  me 
as  that  of  the  Parsees  on  the  beach  at  Bombay.  While 
I  gazed  upon  the  scene  I  stood  conscious  only  that  I 
was  privileged  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  something  that  was 
not  of  the  earth,  but,  as  I  sauntered  homeward,  Words- 
worth's Hnes  came  to  me  as  the  fittest  expression  of  my 
feelings.  The  passage  is  too  long  to  quote  at  length ; 
besides  I  have  to  confess  I  cannot  at  this  moment  recall 
it  all.  But  he  tells  first  how  in  his  youth  Nature  was  all 
in  all  to  him,  "  nor  needed  a  moral  sense  unborrowed 
from  the  eye,"  but  later  the  inner  light  came ;  and  hear 
him  in  his  maturer  years : 

"  For  I  have  learned 
To  look  on  Nature,  not  as  in  the  hour 
Of  thoughtless  youth  ;  but  hearing  oftentimes 
The  still,  sad  music  of  humanity. 
Nor  harsh  nor  grating,  though  of  ample  power 
To  chasten  and  subdue.     And  I  have  felt 
A  Presence  that  disturbs  me  with  the  joy 
Of  elevated  thoughts;  a  sense  sublime 
Of  something  far  more  deeply  interfused, 
Whose  dwelling  is  the  light  of  setting  suns, 
And  the  round  ocean  and  the  living  air, 


Disciples  of  Zoroaster.  281 

And  the  blue  sky,  and  in  the  mind  of  man ; 
A  motion  and  a  spirit,  that  impels 
All  thinking  things,  all  objects  of  all  thought. 
And  rolls  through  all  things." 

"The  still  sad  music  of  humanity!  " — it  was  that  I 
heard  sounding  in  the  prayers  of  those  devout  Parsees 
and  in  the  moan  of  that  mighty  sea.  Sweet,  refreshing 
it  was,  though  tinged  with  sadness,  as  all  our  more  pre- 
cious musings  must  be,  "  since  all  we  know  is,  nothing 
can  be  known." 

In  one  of  my  strolls  along  the  beach  I  met  a  Parsee 
gentleman  who  spoke  excellent  English.  From  him  I 
learned  that  the  disciples  of  Zoroaster  number  only 
about  two  hundred  thousand,  and  of  those  no  fewer 
than  fifty  thousand  are  in  Bombay.  They  were  driven 
from  Persia  by  the  Mohammedans  and  settled  here, 
where  they  have  prospered. 

They  do  not  intermarry  with  other  sects,  believe  in 
one  God,  and  worship  the  sun,  moon,  earth,  and  stars 
only  as  being  the  visible  angels  of  God,  as  he  termed 
them.  In  themselves  these  are  nothing,  but  are  the 
best  steps  by  which  we  can  ascend  to  God.  Good  men 
will  be  happy  forever;  bad  men  will  be  unhappy  for  a 
long  time  after  death,  and  very  bad  men  will  be  severely 
punished.  But  I  was  delighted  to  be  assured  that  no 
one  will  be  punished  forever,  all  life  being  sacred  to 
God  because  he  made  it,  and  all  life  must  eventually  be 
purified,  return  to  its  Maker,  and  be  merged  in  Him. 


282  Round  the   Wo^'ld. 

Parsees  cannot  burn  the  dead,  because  fire  should  not 
be  prostituted  to  so  vile  a  use.  They  cannot  bury,  be- 
cause the  earth  should  not  be  desecrated  with  the  dead, 
neither  should  the  sea  ;  and  therefore  God  has  provided 
vultures,  which  cannot  be  defiled,  to  absorb  the  flesh  of 
the  dead.  I  said  to  him  that  the  mere  thought  of  vio- 
lence offered  to  our  dead  caused  us  to  shudder.  "  Then 
what  do  you  think  of  the  worms?"  he  asked.  This 
was  certainly  an  effective  estoppel.  "  It  comes  to  this," 
he  continued,  "  a  question  of  birds  or  worms."  "  You 
are  right  "  (I  had  to  admit  it),  I  said  ;  "  after  all,  it's 
not  worth  disputing  about."  When  I  had  asked  him  a 
great  many  questions,  I  suppose  he  thought  turn-about 
was  fair  play,  and  he  began  to  cross-examine  me  upon 
many  points  of  Christian  doctrine,  which  I  did  my  best 
to  put  in  the  proper  form.  We  finally  agreed  that  no 
good  men  or  good  women  of  any  form  of  religion 
would  be  eternally  miserable,  and  upon  this  platform 
we  said  good-bye  and  parted. 

On  looking  around,  I  saw  that  we  had  become  the 
centre  of  quite  a  circle  of  Parsees,  Hindoos,  and 
Mohammedans,  who  had  been  attracted  by  our  conversa- 
tion, their  earnest  bronze  faces,  surmounted  by  the 
flaming  red  turbans,  so  very  close  to  mine,  forming 
with  the  gorgeous  colors  of  their  flowing  robes,  a  pict- 
ure I  shall  not  soon  forget.  They  opened  a  way  of 
egress,  and  Sahib  passed  out  of  the  throng  amid  their 
salaams,  evidently  an  object  of  intense  curiosity. 


Caves  of  Elephant  a,  283 

Our  excursion  to  the  Caves  of  Elephanta  was  very- 
enjoyable.  They  are  decidedly  worth  seeing.  Here  is 
the  strongest  contrast  to  the  grand  open-air  worship  of 
the  Parsees,  for  the  Hindoos  sought  to  hide  their  wor- 
ship in  caves  which  shut  out  the  light  of  day,  and  to 
seek  their  gods  in  the  dark  recesses.  The  carved 
figures  and  columns  of  the  Temple  are  fine,  the  princi- 
pal idol  being  of  great  size — a  huge  representation  of 
the  Hindoo  Trinity  of  Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Siva, 
which  make  the  three-headed  god.  The  effect  of  such 
a  monster,  seen  dimly  by  the  lighted  torch,  upon  igno- 
rant natures,  could  not  but  be  overpowering.  When 
examined  closely  there  is  nothing  repulsive  in  the 
faces  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  expression  of  all  three  is 
rather  pleasing  than  otherwise,  like  that  of  Buddha.  It 
is  evident  that  the  gods  of  the  Hindoos  are  good  nat- 
ured,  kind,  and  disposed  to  forgiveness. 


Bombay,  Monday,  February  24. 

We  sailed  at  six  in  the  evening  by  the  splendid 
Peninsula  and  Oriental  mail  steamer  Pekin.  The  city 
was  bathed  in  the  rays  of  a  brilliant  sunset  as  we 
steamed  slowly  out  of  the  harbor,  and  we  bade  farewell 
to  India  when  it  looked  the  fairest. 

And  now  for  something  on  the  great  Indian  Ques- 
tion, for  it  would  never  do  for  a  traveller  to  visit  India 
and  not  to  have  his  decided  opinion  upon  matters  and 


284  Round  the   World. 

things  there,  and  his  clearly-defined  policy  embracing 
the  management  of  the  most  intricate  problems  in- 
volved in  the  government  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  of  the  most  ignorant  races  known,  and  all 
founded  upon  a  few  weeks'  hurried  travel  among  them. 
There  is,  however,  a  much  more  extensive  class  who 
are  even  more  presumptuous,  for  they  have  just  as 
complete  a  policy  upon  this  subject,  although  they  have 
never  seen  India  at  all. 

The  vast  country  we  know  as  India,  then,  is  held 
and  governed,  not  as  one  country,  but  district  by  dis- 
trict. One  province,  for  instance,  has  a  native  ruler 
with  whom  England  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  except 
that,  by  right  of  treaty,  she  sends  a  political  agent  to 
his  court,  supported  in  some  cases,  and  in  others  not, 
by  a  certain  number  of  soldiers.  This  Resident  is  ex- 
pected to  confer  with  and  advise  the  Rajah,  and  keep 
him  and  his  officials  from  outrageous  courses.  Espe- 
cially are  they  prevented  from  warring  upon  neighboring 
States.  In  extreme  cases,  when  counsel  and  remon- 
strance avail  not,  the  government  has  had  either  to 
depose  the  ruling  Rajah  and  substitute  another,  as  in 
the  recent  affair  of  the  Rajah  of  Baroda,  or  to  confiscate 
the  province  and  merge  it  in  the  Empire,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  King  of  Oude.  But  what  must  be  borne  in  mind 
is  that  no  two  native  rulers  govern  alike.  Laws  and 
customs  prevailing  in  one  province  are  unknown  in 
another.     Land  is  held  by  one  tenure  in  one  place,  and 


Government  of  India.  285 

by  an  entirely  different  system  in  another.  India  is 
therefore  not  one  nation,  but  a  vast  conglomeration  of 
different  races  and  principalities,  each  independent  of 
the  other,  differing  as  much  as  France  does  from  Ger- 
many, and  much  more  than  England  does  from  America. 
Add  to  this  the  fact  that  the  people  of  any  one  district 
are  not  a  homogeneous  community,  but  subdivided  into 
distinct  castes,  which  refuse  to  intermarry  or  even  to 
eat  with  one  another,  and  a  faint  idea  of  the  magnitude 
of  the  Indian  question  will  begin  to  dawn  upon  one. 

It  is  this  mass  which  England  has  to  rule  and  keep 
firmly  in  order  v/ith  her  sixty  thousand  troops,  and 
which  constitutes  the  government  of  India  the  most 
difficult  problem  with  which,  I  believe,  statesmen  have 
to  deal.  The  amount  of  knowledge,  statesmanship, 
tact,  temper,  patience  and  resource  absolutely  put  in 
requisition  by  the  men  who  rule  India  equals,  I  feel 
sure,  that  required  for  the  government  of  the  whole  of 
civilized  Europe  combined;  for  it  is  always  easy  to 
govern  a  homogeneous  people,  the  rulers  being  of  the 
people  themselves,  and  having  the  good  of  their 
respective  countries  at  heart.  It  seems  to  me  that  an 
unnecessary  element  of  danger  arises  from  the  fact  that 
these  Rajahs  are  permitted  to  maintain  no  fewer  than 
three  hundred  thousand  native  troops,  mainly  to  swell 
their  importance.  The  question  of  enforcing  reductions 
in  these  armaments  is  now  under  consideration,  I  ob- 
serve, but  I  should  decidedly  say  with  Hamlet, 


286  Round  the    World. 

"  Oh  !  reform  it  altogether." 

I  would  not  allow  a  Rajah  to  keep  more  than  one  hun- 
dred armed  troops,  except  as  a  body-guard,  beyond  the 
number  actually  required  to  enforce  order.  Upon  this 
point  I  have  decided  views. 

The  existence  of  Rajahs  is  perhaps  a  necessary  evil. 
They  are  maintained  in  consequence  of  a  well-grounded 
reluctance  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  assume  the 
task  of  governing  more  territory.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  it  has  been  necessary  to  extend  the  sway  so  far 
already ;  nevertheless,  the  day  will  come  when  the 
petty  courts  must  be  swept  away,  as  they  have  been  in 
Japan  and  Germany,  and  the  whole  country  given  the 
benefits  of  uniform  rule.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
Rajahs  tax  the  people  to  an  extent  equal  to  the 
revenues  of  the  government — about  8300,000,000  per 
annum  :  of  this  much  is  squandered  in  upholding  their 
state — a  grievous  exaction  from  so  poor  a  country. 
This  will  soon  be  one  of  the  burning  questions  of 
India. 

The  Rajah  of  Jeypoor  draws  from  the  people 
$6,000,000  per  annum,  and  one  or  two  others  exceed 
this  sum.  Poor  fellow  !  the  other  day  he  had  to  marry 
his  tenth  wife — a  sister  of  two  of  his  previous  wives,  for 
whom  no  suitable  husband  could  be  found.  There  were 
but  two  families  in  the  realm,  I  believe,  of  the  proper 
rank,  and  neither  happened  just  then  to  have  a  nice 
young  man  on  hand.     The  disgrace  of  having  an  unmar- 


Government  of  India.  287 

ried  woman  in  the  family  was  not  to  be  borne,  and  the 
old  Rajah  Lad  to  husband  her,  as  he  had  her  other 
sister  some  time  ago.  Although  so  well  provided  with 
wives,  he  has  never  been  blessed  with  an  heir,  and  at  his 
death  his  first  wife  will  adopt  a  son,  who  will  be  his 
successor. 

What  do  I  think  of  India  ?  is  asked  me  every  day ; 
but  I  feel  that  one  accustomed  to  the  exceptional  fer- 
tility and  advantages  of  America — aland  so  wonderfully 
endowed  that  it  seems  to  me  more  and  more  the  special 
favorite  of  fortune — is  very  apt  to  underrate  India.  We 
saw  it  after  two  years  of  bad  harvests,  and  a  third  most 
unpromising  one  coming  on.  Judged  from  what  I  saw, 
I  can  only  say  that  I,  as  a  lover  of  England,  find  it  im- 
possible to  repress  the  wish  that  springs  up  at  every 
turn,  Would  she  were  safely  and  honorably  out  of  it ! 
Retiring  now  is  out  of  the  question  ;  she  has  abolished 
the  native  system  in  large  districts,  and  must  perforce 
continue  the  glorious  task  of  giving  to  these  millions 
the  blessings  of  order. 

Her  withdrawal  would  be  the  signal  for  internecine 
strife,  and  such  a  saturnalia  of  blood  and  rapine  as  the 
world  has  never  known  ;  but  were  the  question  whether 
Britain  should  to-day  accept  India  as  a  gift,  and  I  had 
the  privilege  of  replying,  then,  "  Declined  with  thanks  ;  " 
and  yet  it  is  the  fashion  just  now  to  call  India  "  the 
brightest  jewel  in  the  crown."  The  ghtter  of  that  jewel 
may  be  red  again  some  day. 


288  Round  the   World. 

I  have  heard  only  two  reasons  advanced  in  favor  of 
India  as  an  English  possession.  The  first  is,  it  furnishes 
official  station  and  employment  for  a  large  number  who 
would  otherwise  have  no  field  ;  but  I  think  there  is  yet 
plenty  of  unoccupied  territory  in  which  these  gentlemen 
can  find  work  if  they  can  hold  their  own  in  the  struggle 
for  existence.  Besides,  the  official  class  requires  less 
protection,  not  greater,  than  it  has  hitherto  been 
favored  with,  if  the  true  interest  of  England  is  to  be 
considered. 

The  second  reason  is  a  commercial  one,  and  it  is 
pointed  out  that  the  trade  of  England  is  thereby  ex- 
tended ;  to  which  it  may  be  said  in  reply  that  the  occu- 
pation of  foreign  countries  and  the  subjugation  of 
foreign  races  are  in  no  measure  required  by  the  demands 
of  trade.  The  possession  of  small  islands  at  proper 
points  secures  all  this.  Hong  Kong  and  a  small  strip  at 
Shanghai  and  one  or  two  other  ports,  afford  all  the 
facilities  required  for  England  to  obtain  the  trade.  Pe- 
nang  on  the  west  of  the  Malay  Peninsula,  Singapore  at 
the  south  end,  do  the  same.  All  of  these  have  the 
precious  silver  thread  surrounding  them,  and  can  be  held 
easily  by  Britannia  against  the  world  without  and  native 
races  struggling  within  for  independence,  as  they  are 
bound  to  do  some  day. 

There  is  another  view  to  be  taken  of  this  question 
by  a  well-wisher  of  Britain  which  cannot  be  ignored. 
She,  the  mother  of  nations  and  champion  of  oppressed 


Government  of  hidia.  289 

nationalities,  necessarily  occupies  a  false  position  in 
India ;  there  she  must  assume  the  rSle  of  the  conqueror. 
I  do  not  speak  of  this  to  disapprove  of  it,  or  even  of  the 
Press  Laws  recently  adopted  ;  to  avert  still  greater 
evils  she  is  compelled  to  go  to  any  length.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  a  false  position  ;  the  stars  in  their  courses  fight 
against  it,  and  sooner  or  later  England  will  retire  from 
it.  In  short,  the  pole-star  of  Indian  policy  is  to  bend 
every  energy  to  the  sowing  of  seed  which  will  produce 
a  native  class  capable  at  first  of  participating  in  the 
government,  and  which  will  eventually  become  such  as 
can  be  trusted  with  entire  control,  so  that  England  may 
stand  to  India  as  she  stands  to-day  to  Canada  and  Aus- 
tralia. There  is  one  course  for  England,  and  one  only, 
and  this  let  her  adopt  speedily.  Let  her  call  around 
her  Indian  government  the  best  men  of  India,  explain 
to  them  her  aim  and  end,  show  them  how  noble  her 
aspirations  are  ;  point  to  Canada  and  Australia  as  proofs 
of  her  colonial  system,  and  say.  To  this  condition  we 
hope  to  bring  your  country.  Can  you  resist  our  appeal 
to  come  and  help  us? 

Since  all  this  was  written  the  Ilbert  bill  question  has 
arisen.  It  will  be  understood  at  once  that  such  a  meas- 
ure is  believed  by  me  to  be  emphatically  a  step  not  only 
in  the  right  direction,  but  in  the  only  direction,  if  grave 
dangers  are  to  be  avoided  in  India.  Let  me  tell  my 
English  readers  that,  travelling  as  I  did,  an  American, 
and  not,  in  Indian  parlance,  as  one  of  the  governing 
19 


290 


Rozcnd  the   World. 


class — one  of  the  usurpers — I  had  many  opportunities 
of  hearing  educated  natives  speak  the  thoughts  of  their 
hearts,  which  to  an  EngHshman's  ears  would  have  been 
treason.  Such  trustworthy  indications  of  the  forces 
moving  under  the  crust  should  be  considered  as  invalu- 
able by  the  rulers  of  India.  While,  therefore,  educated 
natives  give  assent  to  the  claims  made  for  English  rule, 
that  it  keeps  order  and  enforces  justice  as  far  as  its 
courts  can  reach,  they  are  yet  antagonistic  to  it.  It  is 
the  old  story :  You  have  taught  people  to  read,  and 
placed  before  them  as  types  of  highest  excellence  our 
rebels,  Cromwell,  Hampden,  Sidney,  Russell,  Wash- 
ington, Franklin.  In  so  far  as  a  native  Indian  dwells 
contentedly  while  his  country  is  ruled  by  a  foreign  race, 
by  just  so  much  do  we  despise  him  in  our  heart,  for 
loyalty  to  England  means  treachery  to  his  country,  and 
one  cannot  depend  upon  traitors. 

If  India  were  told  that  the  chief  delight  of  England 
was  not  to  hold  dependencies  but  to  bring  forth  nations 
competent  to  govern  themselves — a  much  grander  mis- 
sion— and  were  England  slowly,  but  steadily  to  intro- 
duce, little  by  little,  the  native  element  in  government 
whenever  practicable — and  that  it  is  practicable  to  do 
so  in  every  department  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  I  am 
convinced — then  I  should  feel  that  sufficient  pressure 
had  been  relieved  to  give  hope  that  peace  would  reign 
there.  The  greatest  danger  England  will  have  to  con- 
tend with  in  every  measure  taken  toward  this  great  end 


Government  of  India.  291 

will  be  the  violent  opposition  of  the  Anglo-Indian,  It 
will  be  difficult  to  carry  reform  against  the  advice  of  the 
only  class  which  seems  competent  to  advise,  viz.,  such 
Englishmen  as  have  had  experience  of  India.  I  hold 
such  to  be  totally  incompetent  as  a  class  to  take  proper 
views  of  Indian  problems — such  men  as  Sir  Richard 
Temple  are  the  exception.  His  articles  upon  India 
seem  to  me  most  salutary  and  to  denote  a  statesmanlike 
grasp  of  a  subject  of  paramount  importance  to  England. 
The  reason  why  the  Englishman  in  India  is  likely  to 
be  entirely  wrong  in  his  views  of  Indian  government  is 
because  he  sits  on  the  safety  valve  of  the  terrible  boiler. 
He  hears  every  now  and  then  the  sharp  rush  of  the  con- 
fined steam,  which  startles  the  ear  as  it  passes.  When 
it  is  proposed  to  relieve  the  pressure  and  allow  more 
steam  to  escape  he  is  frightened,  and  protests  that  his 
position  would  thereby  become  unendurable. 

But  we  who  stand  afar  off  and  know  the  play  of  the 
forces  in  that  boiler,  as  I  know  them  from  sources  sealed 
to  him,  see  that  the  steam  must  be  allowed  vent  in  con- 
stantly increasing  volume  if  a  terrible  catastrophe  is  to 
be  averted.  John  Bright,  of  all  English  public  men  of 
the  first  rank,  seems  to  me  to  understand  the  Indian 
problem  best ;  hence  the  interest  he  takes  in  it — an  in- 
terest which  every  public  man  would  share  did  he  real- 
ize the  situation  England  occupies  in  Hindostan. 

I  have  before  referred  to  the  fact  that  the  Anglo- 
Indian  authorities  protested  against  railway  travel  being 


292  Round  the    World. 

conducted  without  special  reference  to  caste,  and  that 
they  were  overruled  by  the  Home  Government.  The 
result  is  that  more  impression  has  been  made  upon 
caste,  and  is  made  daily  and  hourly,  by  the  rush  of 
every  grade  to  get  the  best  seats  in  the  same  carriage, 
than  by  all  other  influences  combined.  The  Home  Of- 
fice judged  more  wisely  than  those  who  were  too  close 
to  the  problem  to  get  a  clear  view;  and  so  it  must  be  in 
every  measure  calculated  to  elevate  the  people  of  India 
to  a  higher  stage  of  civilization.  In  my  opinion  Eng- 
land can  scarcely  move  too  rapidly  in  the  imperative 
task  of  attaching  able  natives,  as  these  arise,  to  her 
side,  and  giving  them  power — at  least  the  danger  is 
that  she  will  move  too  slowly  rather  than  too  fast. 

The  business  of  colonizing,  as  a  whole,  does  not 
appear  to  me  to  pay.  As  a  mission  there  is  none  so 
noble  or  to  be  compared  with  it,  next  to  governing  well 
at  home  ;  but  beyond  this  England's  share  of  the  ma- 
terial good  looks  small.  If  the  colony  is  rich  and  pros- 
perous it  sets  up  for  itself;  if  weak  and  unsuccessful,  it 
becomes  a  Natal,  and  calls  upon  the  generous-hearted 
mother  for  assistance.  The  gain  to  the  colonies  is 
obvious;  nothing  could  be  finer  for  them;  and  if  it  be 
clearly  understood  that  England  elects  to  play  the 
tender  nurse  and  receive  her  reward  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  doing  good — all  right.  Let  her  continue  !  But 
if  it  be  thought  that  these  dependencies  enhance  her 
own  power  and  promote  her  prosperity,  the  sooner  the 


Colon  iza  tioii.  293 

books  are  balanced  the  better.  Only  one  prayer,  May 
heaven  keep  America  from  the  colonizing  craze  !  Cuba! 
Santo  Domingo  !  avaunt,  and  quit  our  sight! 

From  another  point  of  view  one  keeps  inquiring 
whether  all  the  advantages  flowing  from  the  introduc- 
tion of  English  ideas,  as  far  as  these  can  really  be  intro- 
duced in  the  government  of  subject  races — whether, 
after  all,  the  result  is,  upon  the  whole,  for  the  real  per- 
manent good  of  these  inferior  races.  To  the  unin- 
formed man,  who  has  never  been  beyond  his  own  island, 
it  seems  fanciful,  perhaps,  to  raise  this  question.  English 
civilization,  freedom,  civil  and  religious  liberty,  order,  law, 
Christianity — these  not  beneficial,  think  you  !  Softly, 
my  friend,  softly.  These  may  be  growths  admirable  for 
English-speaking  people  who  can  assimilate  them,  but 
yet  unsuitable  for  the  Hottentot.  You  press  man's 
food  upon  babes  to  their  injury,  may  be.  The  true 
evolutionist  must  regard  these  attempts  with  sorrow. 

Speaking  broadly,  I  do  not  believe  that  it  is  in  the 
power  of  England — and  of  course  much  less  of  any  other 
country — to  confer  upon  another  race  benefits  which 
are  not  more  than  cancelled  by  the  evil  which  usually 
follows  from  her  interference.  Rob  even  the  lowest 
people  in  development  to-day  of  the  necessity  of  gov- 
erning themselves,  take  this  responsibility  away  from 
them,  as  interference  does  take  it  away,  and  the  natural 
growth  of  that  people  is  not  only  checked,  but  it  is 
diverted  into  channels  foreign  to  it. 


294  Round  the    World. 

If  colonization  can  follow  occupation  it  is  a  different 
matter — the  interference  is  temporary,  and  Australians, 
Canadians  and  Americans  soon  come  forth  and  govern 
themselves,  the  native-born  soon  grow  patriotic,  and 
work  out  their  own  destiny.  In  such  cases  England's 
share  is  her  glory,  a  glory  of  which  no  other  nation  par- 
takes, for  she  alone  is  the  grand  old  mother  of  nations, 
God  bless  her !  It  is  different  with  India.  No  one 
pretends  that  our  race  can  ever  obtain  a  foothold  there. 
Conquerors  the  English  are,  and  conquerors  they  must 
remain  as  long  as  they  remain  at  all,  which  I  ardently 
trust  may  not  be  long  ;  not  longer  than  the  natives  are 
willing  to  accept  the  task  of  self-government.  Mean- 
while surely  no  further  rash  responsibilities  should  be 
taken  upon  herself  by  England.  She  can  do  most  good 
by  example.  The  little  islands  of  Hong  Kong  and 
Singapore,  and  the  other  Straits  Settlements,  Shanghai, 
and  even  Ceylon,  which  is  not  too  big — these  teach  the 
races  of  the  East  what  western  civilization  means,  and 
serve  as  models  to  which  they  can  move  with  such 
differentiation  as  circumstances  require  and  without 
losing  the  inestimable  advantages  of  thinking  and  acting 
for  themselves.  Even  Christianity  will  make  more 
progress  from  such  examples  than  if  through  the  efforts 
of  a  paid  propaganda  we  try  to  force  it  upon  people. 
Rob  them  of  this  freedom  to  act,  to  accept,  and  to 
reject,  and  all  that  England  can  give  in  return  will  not 
atone  for  the  injury  she  inflicts.     A  nation  should  have 


Wheat  and  Railways.  295 

much  to  offer  in  exchange,  more  than  I  see  that  any 
nation  has,  which  stifles  in  the  breast  of  the  most 
ignorant  people  in  the  world  the  sacred  germ  of  self- 
development. 

The  total  acreage  under  wheat  in  India  is  not  much, 
if  any,  less  than  that  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
average  yield  about  the  same — thirteen  bushels  per 
acre.  The  quality  is  excellent.  America  cannot  afford 
to  ignore  this  potential  rival.  The  cheaper  labor  of 
India  is  quite  an  element  in  her  favor,  but  cheap  labor 
is  not  always  cheap.  One  educated  Minnesotan,  with 
his  machinery,  must  count  for  many  spindle-shanked 
Hindoos  with  their  wooden  rakes.  India's  remoteness 
from  Europe  and  the  lack  of  inland  transportation 
facilities,  give  America  the  vantage-ground.  The  pres- 
ent low  price  of  wheat  in  Liverpool  to-day,  however, 
warns  our  western  friends  that  there  are  other  great 
sources  of  supply.  Until  1873,  only  ten  years  ago,  an 
export  duty  was  laid  upon  Indian  wheat.  The  amount 
exported  in  that  year  was  valued  at  only  ;^i67,ooo  ; 
last  year,  1882,  the  exports  were  iJ"8, 869,000  ($45,000,- 
000),  more  than  one-third  as  much  as  the  United  States 
exported  in  that  year  ($112,000,000),  to  which,  however, 
should  be  added  $35,000,000  worth  of  wheat  flour 
exported,  making  the  total  United  States  export  $157,- 
000,000.  It  must  be  remembered  that  India  has  scarcely 
yet  entered  the  race  with  us  for  the  supremacy  in  this 
department,  for  while  we  have  110,000  miles  of  railway 


296  Round  the   World. 

with  55,000,000  of  people,  she  has  250,000,000  of  people 
with  only  10,000  miles  of  rail.  This  may  seem  alarming 
to  the  untravelled  Yankee,  but  let  him  possess  his  soul 
in  patience.  It  is  a  very  safe  wager  that  notwithstand= 
ing  this  seemingly  uncalled-for  disparity  in  railway 
facilities,  the  American  railway  system  is  still  to  increase 
at  a  far  greater  ratio  than  the  Indian.  Last  year  only 
three  hundred  and  eighty-seven  miles  of  line  were  built 
in  India  as  against  our  six  thousand,  and  even  my 
friend,  William  Fowler,  M.P.,  in  his  most  interesting 
article  in  the  Fortnightly  Review  for  February,  1884, 
*'  India,  Her  Wheat,  and  Her  Raihvays,"  to  which  I  beg 
to  refer  such  of  my  readers  as  are  specially  interested  in 
this  subject — even  he  only  suggests  that  twelve  hundred 
miles  should  be  built  every  year  in  India;  to  secure 
which  he  urges  the  government  to  give  a  guarantee 
upon  850,000,000  per  year,  in  order  to  obtain  the  neces- 
sary capital,  which  he  admits  cannot  be  obtained  other- 
wise. This  the  government  is  not  likely  to  do  until 
the  people  rule  England  and  sweep  away  the  privileged 
classes,  who  live  mainly  through  wars,  and  would  be 
relegated  to  obscurity  were  the  resources  of  England 
once  spent  for  peaceful  development,  as  those  of  Re- 
publican America  are.  Friend  Fowler  will  get  a  vote 
to  add  milhons  to  England's  burden  by  an  Afghan  or 
Zulu  war,  or  even  to  squander  her  means  upon  worth- 
less members  of  a  more  than  useless  royal  family  and 
its  dependents  of  the  court  long  before  he  will  get  a 


Aden.  297 

pound  for  his  Indian  railways.  The  Republic  will  hold 
control  of  the  world's  wheat  market  for  a  hundred  years 
and  more,  but  prices  must  rule  lower  in  consequence  of 
India.  Beyond  that  let  posterity  wrestle  with  the 
question. 

As  to  cotton,  of  which  America  holds  a  firmer  grasp 
upon  the  world's  supply  than  it  appears  she  does  of 
wheat,  India  is  not  an  impossible  second  if  from  any 
cause  the  American  supply  were  forced  to  extreme 
prices.  During  the  civil  war  in  the  United  States,  cot- 
ton cultivation  in  India,  as  I  have  before  said,  reached 
an  extraordinary  development.  In  1866  the  exports 
amounted  to  thirty-seven  millions  of  pounds  sterling, 
$185,000,000;  now  the  average  has  fallen  to  about 
$40,000,000  per  year.  If  the  staple  were  equal  to  the 
American,  India  would  be  formidable  as  a  rival,  but  it 
is  not,  and  consequently  the  growth  of  cotton  in  the 
South  seems  sure  to  increase  as  rapidly  as  ever. 

After  six  days'  delightful  sail  we  had  our  first 
glimpse  of  Arabia  this  morning,  and  are  now  skirting 
the  Arabian  coast.  Aden  was  reached  Sunday  morning, 
and  we  drove  out  to  the  native  town  and  saw  the  tanks 
said  to  have  been  constructed  thousands  of  years  ago. 
It  rains  only  once  in  every  year  or  two,  and  a  supply  of 
water  is  obtained  by  storing  the  torrents  which  then 
flow  from  the  hills.  A  more  desolate  desert  than  that 
which  surrounds  the  city  surely  does  not  exist.  Aden 
itself  illustrates  how  the  whirligig  of  time  revolves.     Be- 


298  Round  the   World. 

fore  the  discovery  of  the  passage  round  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  it  was  the  chief  entrepot  for  the  trade  be- 
tween Europe  and  Asia.  It  fell  into  insignificance  when 
the  stream  of  traffic  left  for  the  new  route  around  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  but  now  the  Suez  Canal,  which 
restores  the  original  route  via  the  Red  Sea,  to  its 
former  supremacy,  once  more  raises  Aden  to  her  for- 
mer commanding  position.  The  population,  which  in 
1839  had  dwindled  to  fewer  than  a  thousand,  now  num- 
bers nearly  thirty  thousand. 

Aden  is  just  one  of  those  natural  keys  of  the  world 
which  England  should  hold,  and  I  doubt  not  will  hold 
to  the  last.  The  town  stands  upon  a  narrow  peninsula 
composed  of  desolate  volcanic  rocks,  five  miles  long 
from  east  to  west,  and  three  from  north  to  south, 
connected  with  the  main  land  by  a  neck  of  flat  sandy 
ground  only  a  few  feet  high.  The  town  itself  is  sur- 
rounded by  precipitous  rocks,  which  really  make  it  a 
natural  fortress  impregnable  against  attack.  All  that  I 
urge  against  conquest  in  general  is  inapplicable  here, 
and  I  say  let  England  guard  such  spots.  As  long  as 
she  does  she  is  mistress  of  the  sea.  Her  influence  at 
such  points  is  always  for  good.  The  thirty  thousand 
natives  of  Aden,  for  instance,  may  now  be  considered 
subjects  of  Britain  by  their  own  act.  They  have  flocked 
to  the  town  attracted  by  the  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  a  residence  there,  just  as  the  Chinese  have  done  at 
Hong  Kong,  Shanghai  and  Singapore.     There  is  no  co- 


Aden.  299 

ercion  in  the  matter.  One  foreigner  electing  to  come 
under  the  British  flag  is  worth  ten  thousand  held  down 
by  force,  whether  considered  as  an  element  of  strength 
to  the  Empire,  or  as  conducive  to  its  glory. 

This  is  the  market  of  the  world  for  ostrich  feathers. 
We  saw  droves  of  the  birds  wandering  about  Aden  and 
its  suburbs  at  home  in  the  sand.  The  natives  keep  os- 
triches as  their  chief  dependence,  and  we  are  besieged 
at  every  turn  with  offers  of  rare  feathers — feathers — 
feathers — nothing  but  feathers. 

Our  trip  on  the  Pekin  was  the  most  delightful  we 
ever  had  at  sea ;  even  Vandy  was  well,  and  gained  by 
the  journey.  We  had  very  agreeable  company  on 
board,  and  were  especially  fortunate  in  our  neighbors, 
Mr.,  Mrs.,  and  Miss  G.,  of  Edinburgh,  at  table.  The 
ship  was  crowded  with  officers  and  officers'  wives  and 
children  returning  from  India  to  England,  for  children 
must  be  taken  home  out  of  the  climate  of  India.  Noth- 
ing can  exceed  the  discipline  and  general  management 
of  the  Peninsula  and  Oriental  ships.  Promotion  from 
the  ranks  is  the  rule,  and  they  certainly  are  served  by  a 
class  of  men  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  equal  else- 
where. The  Cunard  line  is  probably  the  only  counter- 
part of  the  Peninsula  and  Oriental  line  in  existence. 

This  was  our  first  experience  of  life  upon  a  vessel 
crowded  with  various  ranks  of  English  people.  On  the 
Atlantic  our  steamer  acquaintances  are  with  few  excep- 
tions Americans.     The  contrast  is  great  in  one  respect : 


300  Round  the    World. 

the  tendency  of  the  English  passengers  is  to  form  them- 
selves into  a  great  number  of  small  cliques.  No  doubt 
this  tendency  prevails  to  some  extent  upon  the  Atlantic 
also,  but  then  congenial  tastes  and  education  form  the 
divisions  there  and  every  one  is  in  his  proper  sphere. 
Upon  the  Pekin  we  found  that  rank  and  position 
formed  a  strong  element  in  the  case — regardless  of 
merit.  Vandy  and  I  being  republicans,  not  caring  a 
rap  about  either  birth  or  position,  and  without  social 
status  in  England,  seemed  to  be  the  only  cosmopolitans 
on  board.  From  the  major-general  and  family  down  to 
the  clerk  of  a  mercantile  house  and  his  nice  wife  and 
children,  we  had  the  free  run  of  the  ship.  But  when  we 
met  intelligent  and  interesting  people  in  one  or  the 
other  grade,  and  proposed  to  make  them  known  to 
others,  as,  had  both  parties  been  Americans,  would 
have  given  much  pleasure,  and  from  whose  acquaint- 
ance mutual  benefit  would  have  resulted,  we  found 
that  the  miserable  barriers  of  artificial  distinction  stood 
in  the  way. 

I  wished  two  young  ladies  to  know  each  other,  for 
they  were  akin  in  education,  manners,  feelings,  and 
accomplishments,  and  one  morning  I  said  to  the 
one  who  surely  was  not  the  less  desirable  acquaint- 
ance :    "You  and  Miss  should   know   each   other; 

would  you  not  like  to  make  her  acquaintance?  If  so,  I 
shall  ask  her,  and  I  am  sure  she  would  be  pleased  to 
make  yours.     Both  will  be  the  gainers." 


htdian   Victims.  301 

*'  Mr.  Carnegie,  excuse  me,  but  she  is  a  major-gen- 
eral's daughter,  the  advance  must  come  from  her.  If 
she  ever  expresses  a  wish  to  know  me,  then  you  come 
to  me  and  I'll  tell  you.  This  is  the  proper  thing, 
you  know." 

Happy  American  young  ladies,  into  whose  pretty 
heads  the  thought  would  never  enter  that  another 
would  be  so  silly  as  to  stand  upon  position,  and  if  by 
any  chance  it  did  momentarily  arise,  it  would  be  scouted 
as  inconsistent  with  one's  own  self-respect  as  a  woman. 
England  will  never  be  truly  homogeneous  till  throne 
and  aristocracy  give  place  to  the  higher  republican  form. 

India  claims  many  victims.  We  had  yesterday  a 
young  man  near  us  who  had  been  in  India  only  a  short 
time,  and  who  was  returning  invalided.  Poor  fellow! 
He  lay  in  the  hatchway  in  his  easy-chair  from  morning 
until  night,  gazing  wistfully  over  the  sea  toward  his  be- 
loved England.  There  he  would  soon  get  well.  Only 
last  night  as  I  passed  to  bed  I  stopped  to  encourage 
him,  telling  him  how  finely  we  were  dancing  along 
homeward.  At  dawn  I  heard  the  pulsations  of  the 
engine  cease  for  a  few  moments  only,  but  in  those 
moments  he  had  been  cast  into  the  sea.  Scarcely  any 
one  knew  of  his  death  except  the  doctor  and  a  few 
of  the  crew ;  not  a  soul  on  board  knew  anything  of 
him ;  he  was  an  entire  stranger  to  all.  But  think  of 
the  mother  and  sisters  who  were  to  meet  him  on  ar- 
rival and  convey  him  "  to  the  green  lanes  of  Surrey  !  " 


302  Round  the   World. 

See  them  hastening  on  board  and  casting  anxious  glances 
around  !  No  one  will  know  them,  but  every  one  will 
suspect  who  they  are,  and  what  their  errand,  and  in- 
stinctively avoid  them — for  who  would  be  the  mes- 
senger to  strike  a  mother  down  with  a  word?  The 
death  and  burial  were  sad — sad  enough ;  but  the  real 
tragedy  is  yet  to  be  played  in  Southampton,  when  the 
living  are  to  envy  the  fate  of  the  dead,  who,  "  after 
life's  fitful  fever,"  sleeps  so  well  in  the  depths  of  the 
Indian  Ocean. 


Suez,  Friday,  February  28. 

We  reached  Suez  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  anchored  within  the  bay.  An  enterprising  sail- 
boat captain  came  alongside  and  offered  to  take  us 
across  the  bay  to  the  town  in  time  to  catch  the  only 
train  leaving  for  Cairo  for  twenty-four  hours.  It  was 
two  long  hours'  sail,  but  the  breeze  was  strong,  and 
Vandy  and  I  resolved  to  try  it,  bargaining  with  the 
captain,  however,  upon  the  basis  of  no  train  no  pay. 
The  few  passengers  on  deck  at  that  early  hour 
gathered  to  give  the  adventurers  a  farewell  cheer,  and 
we  were  off.  We  made  it  just  in  time,  and  grasping  a 
bottle  of  wine  and  some  bread  at  the  station — for  we 
had  had  no  breakfast — we  started  for  Cairo. 

The  railway  runs  parallel  to  the  Suez  Canal,  which, 
by  the  way,  was  a  canal  in  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs,  but, 
of  course,  much  smaller  and  only  used   for  irrigation. 


Suez  Canal.  303 

We  saw  the  top-masts  of  several  steamers  above  the 
sandy  banks  as  they  crawled  slowly  through  the  desert. 
How  great  the  traffic  already  is  and  with  what 
strides  it  grows  is  well  known.  Its  capacity  can  at 
any  time  be  doubled  by  lighting  it  with  electricity,  but 
at  present  vessels  are  compelled  by  rule  to  lie  still  after 
sunset.  All  is  dead  through  the  night.  In  a  few  years 
this  will  be  changed ;  and  indeed  the  canal  must  be 
widened  ere  long  and  made  a  double  track  throughout 
to  accommodate  the  continual  stream  of  ships  plying 
between  the  East  and  the  West.  At  present  it  is  just 
like  one  of  our  single-track  railways  with  sidings  or 
passing  places.  The  distance  from  end  to  end  is  only 
about  a  hundred  miles,  but  ships  sometimes  take  three 
and  even  four  days  to  squeeze  through.  This  must  be 
remedied.  Twenty-four  hours  seems  to  be  about  the 
proper  time-table.  When  past  Ismailia,  the  line  leaves 
the  canal  and  runs  westward  through  the  land  of  Goshen. 
After  the  parched  plains  of  India,  it  was  refreshing  once 
more  to  look  upon  "deep  waving  fields  and  pastures 
green."  We  were  within  the  regions  watered  by  the  Nile, 
and  the  harvests  resembled  those  of  the  carse  of  Gowrie. 
We  reached  Cairo  on  time,  and  our  first  inquiries 
were  about  our  friends,  Mr.  H.,  Miss  N.,  and  party,  who 
were  expected  there  from  their  three  months'  excursion 
upon  the  Nile.  Fortunately,  we  found  their  dalbeah 
anchored  in  the  stream,  and  we  drove  to  it  without  de- 
lay.    Sure  enough,  as  we  reached  the  bank,  there  lay 


304  Round  the   World. 

the  Nubia,  that  little  gem,  with  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
floating  above  her.  We  were  rowed  on  board  only  to 
find  that  our  friends  were  in  the  city.  However,  we 
made  ourselves  at  home  in  the  charming  saloon,  and 
awaited  their  return.  Unfortunately,  some  sailor  on 
shore  had  told  them  of  two  strangers  going  aboard,  and 
there  was  not  the  entire  surprise  we  had  intended  ;  but 
if  there  was  no  surprise  there  was  no  lack  of  cordial 
welcome,  and  we  realized  to  the  fullest  extent  what  a 
world  of  meaning  lies  in  the  quaint  simile,  "  as  the  face 
of  a  friend  in  a  far-off  country." 

This  reunion  at  Cairo  was  one  of  the  fine  inci- 
dents of  our  tour.  Many  months  ago  we  had  parted 
from  Mr.  H.  and  family,  and  half  in  jest  appointed 
Cairo  as  our  next  meeting-place.  They  went  in  one 
direction,  we  in  another,  and  without  special  reference 
to  each  other's  movements  it  had  so  turned  out  that  we 
caught  them  here.  It  was  a  narrow  hit,  however,  as 
they  were  to  leave  next  day  for  Alexandria ;  and  had 
we  remained  on  the  Pekin,  as  all  the  other  passengers 
did,  and  not  undertaken  the  sail  across  the  bay,  we 
should  have  missed  them.  We  grasped  hands  once 
more  and  sat  down  to  dinner,  the  Nile  gurgling  past, 
the  Pyramids  with  their  forty  centuries  looking  down 
upon  us,  and  here  was  one  more  happy  band  drawing 
more  closely  to  each  other  since  separated  from  friends 
at  home,  enacting  over  again  such  scenes  as  the  famous 
river  has  witnessed  upon  its  bosom  for  thousands  of 


Cairo.  305 

years — one  generation  going  and  another  coming,  but 
the  mysterious  Nile  remaining  to  welcome  each  suc- 
ceeding host ;  and  thus, 

"  Thro'  plots  and  counterplots — 
Thro'  gain  and  loss — thro'  glory  and  disgrace — 
.     .     .     still  the  holy  stream 
Of  human  happiness  glides  on  !  " 

To-day  sight-seeing  was  subordinated  to  the  rare 
pleasure  of  enjoying  the  company  of  our  friends,  but 
we  all  drove  through  Cairo  streets  and  saw  one  mem- 
orable sight — the  great  college  of  Islam,  where  more 
than  ten  thousand  students  are  constantly  under  prep- 
aration as  priests  of  the  Prophet.  We  saw  them  in 
hundreds  sitting  on  their  mats  in  the  extensive  open 
courts,  all  busily  engaged  in  learning  to  recite  the 
Koran  to  masters,  or  listening  to  professors  who  ex- 
pounded it.  Their  intense  earnestness  soon  impresses 
you.  From  this  centre  radiate  every  year  thousands  of 
these  propagandists,  scattering  themselves  over  Arabia 
and  to  the  farthest  boundaries  of  Islam,  and  even 
beyond,  warring  upon  idolatry  and  proclaiming  the 
unity  of  God.  No  one  can  fail,  I  think,  to  receive 
from  such  a  visit  as  we  paid  a  much  higher  estimate 
of  the  vitality  of  Mohammedanism,  and,  having  seen 
what  it  has  to  supplant,  we  cannot  refrain  from  wish- 
ing these  missionaries  God-speed.  The  race  rises  step 
by  step,  never  by  leaps  and  bounds.     Upon  this  point 


20 


3o6  Round  the   World. 

I  am  much  impressed  by  a  paragraph  from  a  lecture  de- 
livered by  Marcus  Dodd,  D.D.,  at  the  Presbyterian  Col- 
lege, London,  which  seems  to  me  to  take  a  wider  and 
sounder  view  than  one  usually  finds  from  such  a 
source,  and  is  therefore  specially  pleasing.  He  says: 
"  The  great  lesson  in  comparative  religion  which  we 
learn  from  the  connection  of  Judaism  and  Christian- 
ity is  that  men  are  not  always  ripe  for  the  highest  re- 
ligion ;  that  there  is  a  fulness  of  time  which  it  may  take 
four  thousand  years  to  produce.  The  Mosaic  religion, 
imperfect  as  it  was,  compared  with  Christianity,  was 
better  for  Israel  during  its  period  and  preparation  than 
the  religion  of  Christ  would  have  been."  Then,  re- 
ferring to  the  Mohammedan  religion,  he  says:  ''It 
is  not  denied  that  this  religion  did  at  once  effect  re- 
forms which  Christianity  had  failed  to  effect.  It  accom- 
plished more  for  Arabia  in  a  few  years  than  Christian- 
ity had  accomplished  for  centuries.  It  abolished  at  a 
stroke  the  idolatry  which  Christianity  had  fought  in 
vain."  It  is  to  such  men  as  Mr.  Dodd  that  we  are  to 
look  to  keep  religion  abreast  of  the  age. 

Max  Miiller  says:  "  In  one  sense  every  religion  was 
a  true  religion,  being  the  only  religion  which  was  possi- 
ble at  the  time,  which  was  compatible  with  the  lan- 
guage, the  thoughts,  and  the  sentiments  of  each  gen- 
eration, which  was  appropriate  to  the  age  of  the  world." 
The  Brahman  has  found  the  same  truth.  "  Men  of 
an   enlightened   understanding  well   know,"    says    he. 


Foreign  Missions.  307 

"  that  the  Supreme  has  imparted  to  each  nation  the 
doctrine  most  suitable  for  it,  and  He,  therefore,  be- 
holds with  satisfaction  the  various  ways  in  which  He  is 
worshipped."  In  other  words,  religion  is  the  highest 
expression  of  which  a  people  is  capable.  There  is  no 
reason  why  we  should  not  try  to  prepare  a  people  for 
a  better  one,  but  note  this,  they  must  be  prepared.  To 
force  new  religions  upon  any  race  is  a  sad  mistake. 
In  a  late  address  on  missionary  methods  in  India, 
Rev.  Phillips  Brooks  said :  "  That  which  makes  peo- 
ple distrust  foreign  missions  is  the  testimony  that 
the  Europeans  in  India  will  not  trust  the  Christian- 
ized Indian.  It  is  not  strange  that  some  poor  creature 
should  bring  discredit  on  the  religion  he  professes.  He 
worships  in  strange  houses  and  in  a  strange  way.  He 
kneels  in  American-style  churches  and  is  taught  by  men 
full  of  American  ideas.  Christianity  will  never  be  the 
religion  of  India  until  it  comes  there  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  the  day.  In  time  there  must  come  forth  an 
Indian  Christianity,  rich,  full  of  power  and  goodness. 
The  missionaries  want  this,  and  are  perfectly  aware  it 
must  come.  The  influence  that  now  goes  to  India  car- 
ries with  it  the  curse  as  well  as  the  blessing.  Let  the 
divisions  of  church  creeds  be  kept  at  home,  and  let  the 
Indian  religio7i  be  developed  from  within!' 

We  visited  several  mosques,  but  they  are  such 
poor  affairs  compared  to  those  of  India  that  we  took 
little  interest  in  them.     While  the  other  countries  we 


3o8  Rotmd  the   World. 

have  thus  far  visited  have  all  appeared  stranger  than 
expected,  this  is  not  so  with  Egypt.  Everything 
seems  to  be  just  as  I  had  imagined  it.  We  know  too 
much  about  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs  to  be  taken 
thoroughly  by  surprise.  Perhaps  there  is  something  in 
our  having  seen  so  much  that  our  perceptions  are  no 
longer  as  keen  as  when  we  landed  in  Japan.  The  appe- 
tite for  sight-seeing  becomes  sated,  like  any  other,  and 
I  fear  we  are  not  as  impressionable  as  before.  So  we 
decide  not  to  visit  Turkey  and  Greece  upon  this  trip 
but  to  take  these  when  fresh.  The  crowds  of  squalid 
wretches  who  surround  us  at  every  turn,  clamoring 
for  backsheesh  ;  the  mud  hovels  in  which  they  man- 
age to  live,  and  the  coarse  food  upon  which  they 
exist ;  the  mass  of  greasy,  unwashed  rags  which  hang 
loosely  upon  them — such  things  no  longer  excite  our 
wonder,  or  even  our  pity.  We  have  seen  so  much  of 
such  misery  before  that  I  fear  we  begin  to  grow  cal- 
lous. 

Cairo,  as  a  city,  is  most  picturesque,  v/ith  its  com- 
manding citadel,  and  its  hundreds  of  mosques  with  their 
slender  spires  and  conspicuous  minarets;  while  surround- 
ing all  this  in  the  desert  lie  the  ruins  of  older  cities  and 
of  tombs  and  temples  innumerable.  The  Desert  of  Sa- 
hara reaches  to  the  very  gates  of  the  city  on  the  east. 
The  city  lies  between  that  and  the  Nile;  then  comes  a 
narrow  strip  of  green  about  ten  miles  in  width,  and  after 
that   the   boundless   Libyan     Desert.      The    Pyramids 


Sights  in  Cairo.  309 

stand  upon  the  very  edge  of  this  desert,  so  that  it  is 
sand,  sand,  sand !  everywhere  around  the  city  of  the 
CaHphs,  save  and  except  this  Httle  green  border  along 
the  Nile.  But  indeed  the  whole  of  Egypt  is  only  a  nar- 
row green  ribbon  stretching  along  the  river  for  some  six 
hundred  miles,  and  widening  at  the  delta,  where  the 
waters  divide  and  reach  the  sea  by  various  channels. 
All  the  rest  is  sand.  Egypt  has  not  more  cultivable 
soil  than  Belgium,  and  would  not  make  a  fair  sized 
State  with  us. 

The  Khedive  Ismail  was  determined  to  make  Cairo 
a  miniature  Paris,  and  we  see  much  that  recalls  Paris  to 
us.  The  nev/  boulevards,  the  opera-house,  circus,  cafes, 
new  hotel — all  show  how  much  has  already  been  done 
in  this  direction  ;  but  he  is  in  hard  straits  just  now,  and 
the  cry  there,  as  elsewhere,  is  for  retrenchment  and  re- 
form. The  new  streets  are  Parisian,  but  it  is  in  the  old, 
narrow  streets  of  the  city  that  one  sees  oriental  life  dis- 
tinctively Egyptian  in  its  character.  Indeed  these  are 
sights  of  Cairo  which  I  enjoy  most.  Mufifled  ladies 
pass  by,  resembling  nothing  I  can  think  of  so  much 
as  big  black  bats  as  they  sit  man-fashion  on  their 
donkeys,  wrapped  in  black  silk  cloaks ;  men  in  gorgeous 
silks,  also  on  donkeys,  ride  along,  while  laden  camels 
and  asses  carrying  large  panniers  of  clover  slowly  pick 
their  way  through  the  crowd.  Harem  ladies,  too  (there 
is  the  weight  which  pulls  Egypt  down),  roll  slowly 
by  in  their  covered  carriages,  preceded  by  the  running 


3IO  Round  the   World. 

Lyces.  I  never  saw  such  a  miscellaneous  throng  in 
any  street  before. 

The  great  event  of  a  visit  to  Cairo  is  Pyramid  Day. 
The  Pyramids  are  eight  miles  distant,  and  an  early  start 
has  to  be  made  to  insure  a  return  in  season.  Yesterday 
was  our  day.  These  wonders  do  not  impress  one  at  first 
— few  really  stupendous  works  ever  do  ;  and  even  when 
at  their  base  you  think  but  meanly  of  their  magnitude, 
so  much  so  that  you  never  hesitate  as  to  whether  you 
will  ascend  Cheops,  the  largest.  Three  Arabs,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  assist  you,  are  at  once  assigned  to  you  by 
the  Sheikh ;  two  of  these  take  your  hands,  while  the  third 
stands  behind  to  "boost  "you  up  at  the  moment  the 
others  pull.  It  is  a  hard  climb  even  when  so  assisted, 
and  many  who  start  are  fain  to  content  themselves  with 
getting  up  one  third  the  distance.  I  think  I  rested 
three  times  in  making  the  ascent,  and  each  time  I  found 
my  feehng  of  disappointment  growing  beautifully  less  ; 
while  by  the  time  the  shout  came  from  my  Arabs  an- 
nouncing that  they  were  on  the  top  stone,  I  was  filled 
with  respectful  admiration  for  Cheops,  I  assure  you, 
and  whatever  one  may  say  about  the  equator,  I  feel 
sure  no  one  will  ever  hear  me  speak  disrespectfully  of 
the  Pyramids. 

They  are  without  doubt  the  greatest  masses  ever 
built  by  man.  Cheops  is  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
high,  and  covers  thirteen  acres  at  the  base,  tapering  to 
the    top,   which    is     only    about    thirty    feet    square, 


The  Pyi'a77iids.  3 1 1 

where  one  false  step  would  be  certain  death,  as, 
contrary  to  my  opinion  at  first,  I  saw  that  one  in  falling 
could  not  possibly  rest  on  any  of  the  layers  of  project- 
ing stone.  I  do  not  like  high  places,  and  I  felt,  while 
on  the  top,  I  would  give  a  handsome  sum  just  to  be 
safe  on  level  ground  again.  But  I  got  down,  or  rather 
was  taken  down  by  my  three  attendants,  without  much 
difficulty,  and  after  luncheon  we  went  into  the  centre  of 
the  pile — a  work  of  considerable  trouble — and  saw  the 
sarcophagus.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  invest  the 
Pyramids  with  some  mysterious  meaning,  but,  I  take  it, 
there  will  be  no  more  of  this,  since  an  explanation  is 
now  given  which  meets  every  objection.  They  are  sim- 
ply the  tombs  of  various  kings,  and  differ  in  size  because 
the  kings  ruled  for  different  periods  of  time.  The  mode 
of  procedure  was  this:  When  a  king  came  to  the  throne 
he  began  to  build  his  tomb ;  perhaps  this  was  an  excel- 
lent way  of  keeping  before  him  the  fact  that  he  also 
must  surely  die,  and  that  ere  long  ;  successive  courses 
of  stone  were  built  around  the  pile,  one  course  per  year, 
and  when  the  king  died  the  building  ceased,  his  suc- 
cessor taking  care  to  finish  the  course  under  progress 
at  the  death  of  his  predecessor  ;  hence  the  great  size  of 
Cheops,  for  the  monarch  who  constructed  it  reigned 
forty-two  years  and  built  his  forty-two  courses.  This 
Pyramid  is  either  sixty-five  hundred  or  five  thousand 
years  old,  according  as  you  decide  for  one  or  another 
mode  of  computation.     Either  date  will,  however,  en- 


d 


12  Round  the   World. 


title  it  to  the  honors  of  a  hoary  old  age.  The  old 
Arabian  proverb,  "That  all  things  fear  Time,  but  Time 
fears  the  Pyramids,"  holds  good  no  longer,  for  "  the 
tooth  of  Time  "  is  slowly  but  surely  disintegrating  even 
these  masses.  The  entire  finishing  course  of  huge 
stone  blocks,  from  top  to  bottom  of  Cheops,  has  al- 
ready crumbled  away,  and  lies  in  dust  at  the  base.  This 
is  also  the  case  with  the  second  in  size,  except  that  a 
portion  still  clings  around  its  top ;  this  will  fall  some 
day,  and  leave  it  stripped  like  its  greater  neighbor. 

Our  Arab  guide  told  us,  as  he  pointed  to  the  numer- 
ous monograms  carved  on  the  top  of  Cheops,  that  a 
lover  who  cuts  the  initials  of  his  adored  there,  and  calls 
upon  Allah  to  prosper  his  suit,  is  certain  to  win  her. 
Would  you  believe  it,  soon  after  this  I  saw  Vandy 
secretly  carving  away. 

The  Sphinx — the  mysterious  Sphinx — which  has 
baffled  all  inquisitive  inquirers  for  centuries  without 
number,  stands  in  the  sand  only  a  short  distance  from 
Cheops.  Imagine,  if  you  can,  with  what  feelings  one 
gazes  upon  it.  It  is  as  old  as  the  Pyramids,  perhaps 
older,  and  there  it  still  looks  out  upon  the  green  and 
fertile  banks  of  the  Nile  with  the  Libyan  Desert  be- 
hind. Its  countenance  has  the  same  benignant  cast, 
but  it  tells  neither  of  sorrow  nor  of  anger,  neither  of 
triumph  nor  of  defeat.  It  tells  you  of  no  human 
passion,  and  yet  seems  to  tell  you  of  2\\—tJie  end  of  all 
— and  yet  it  is  not  a  sad  face.     It  is  every  thing  and 


The  Sphinx,  313 

yet  nothing.  I  never  was  so  utterly  unable  to  vivify 
an  image  with  at  least  some  imaginings.  It  could  be 
made  one  thing  or  another,  but  no  sooner  had  I  thought 
it  indicated  one  sentiment  than  a  second  look  made  the 
idea  seem  absurd.  Like  so  many  countless  thousands 
before  me,  I  gave  it  up.  You  cannot  extract  anything 
from  that  face.  I  thought  the  lesson  might  be  in  its 
position,  and  I  pleased  myself  with  drawing  one  from 
that.  There  this  mystery  stands,  gazing  only  upon  what 
is  rich  and  fertile  and  instinct  with  life,  the  hfe-giving 
Nile  rolling  before  it,  and  the  fields  of  golden  grain  in 
view.  Its  back  turned  resolutely  to  the  dreary  sandy 
waste  of  death  behind ;  and  so  it  said  to  me  as  plainly 
as  if  it  could  speak,  This  is  your  lesson :  let  the  dead 
past  bury  its  dead  ;  look  forward  only  upon  that  which 
has  life  and  grows  steadily  towards  perfection.  It  is 
upon  the  bright  things  of  life  we  must  fix  our  gaze  if 
we  would  be  of  use  in  our  day  and  generation. 

When  in  Alexandria  we  visited  with  deep  interest 
the  site  of  the  famous  Alexandrian  Library,  in  which 
lay  stored  the  most  precious  treasures  of  the  world. 
Had  it  escaped  destruction,  how  many  questions  which 
have  vexed  scholars  would  never  have  arisen,  and  how 
much  ground  which  it  has  been  necessary  for  genius  to 
reconquer  would  have  come  to  us  as  our  heritage ! 

The  Cleopatra's  Needle  now  in  New  York,  the  coun- 
terpart of  the  one  in  London,  was  still  in  Alexandria 
when  we  were  there.     Seventeen  hundred  years  before 


314  Round  the   World. 

Christ  this  huge  monolith,  which  is  cut  out  of  soHd 
rock,  was  erected  at  Heliopolis,  and  it  was  transported 
thence  several  hundred  miles  to  its  present  site.  It 
measures  sixty-eight  feet  in  height,  and  is  not  less  than 
eight  feet  square  at  its  base — one  solid  shaft  of  granite ; 
but  this  is  exceeded  by  the  one  still  at  Thebes,  which  is 
a  hundred  feet  high.  It  struck  me  as  a  notable  coinci- 
dence that  the  ingenious  Frenchman  who  first  proved 
the  truth  of  the  supposed  hieroglyphic  alphabet  should 
have  done  so  by  assuming  that  the  name  repeated  so 
frequently  upon  a  certain  stone  extolling  the  virtues  of 
Ptolemy  Soter,  must  be  that  of  the  famous  Cleopatra, 
and  so  it  proved.  Thus  this  extraordinary  woman,  who 
filled  the  world  with  her  name  during  her  life,  and  for 
centuries  after,  once  more  renews  her  tenure  by  linking 
herself  with  the  world's  history  two  thousand  years 
after  her  death. 

The  museum  in  Cairo  is  said  to  comprise  more 
Egyptian  antiquities  than  are  possessed  in  the  world 
besides.  It  is  filled  with  mummies,  sarcophagi,  jewelry, 
coins  and  statues,  one  wooden  statue  shown  being 
no  less  than  four  thousand  six  hundred  years  old. 
Anything  less  tlfan  five  thousand  years  of  age  one 
gets  to  consider  rather  too  modern  to  suit  his  taste. 
Upon  some  of  the  lids  of  the  tombs  the  inscriptions 
are  as  fresh  as  if  cut  yesterday.  Egypt  furnishes  the 
earliest  records  of  our  race,  because  the  dry  sands  of  the 
desert  on  each  side  of  the  Nile,  blowing  over  the  cities 


Egypt.  315 

of  the  past  until  these  were  completely  buried,  her- 
metically sealed  them,  and  this  preserved  them  from 
decay,  and  would  have  done  so  for  ages  yet  to  come. 
Is  it  any  wonder  that  this  narrow  strip,  filled  with 
buried  cities,  should  have  given  rise  to  a  body  of  men 
who  devote  themselves  to  the  search  for  rich  spoils  of 
the  past  and  to  deciphering  the  inscriptions?  You 
meet  occasionally  an  Egyptologist,  and  seem  to  know 
him  instinctively. 

But  grand  as  is  Egypt's  past,  and  varied  as  her 
fortunes  have  been,  it  may  surely  be  said  that  never 
during  all  her  misfortunes  has  she  occupied  a  position 
as  deplorable  as  that  which  saddens  the  traveller  of  to- 
day. If  any  one  wants  to  see  what  personal  rule  in  its 
fullest  development  is  capable  of  producing,  let  him 
visit  Egypt.  The  condition  of  its  finances  is  notorious, 
but  we  did  not  expect  to  witness  such  convincing 
proofs  of  insolvency. 

The  Khedive  has  been  maintaining  a  standing  army 
of  sixty  thousand  men,  but  it  has  not  been  paid  for 
more  than  two  years.  Retrenchment  having  been  in- 
sisted upon  by  England  and  France,  it  was  resolved  to 
reduce  the  force  to  some  eight  thousand,  and  orders  of 
dismissal  were  accordingly  issued.  But  about  two  hun- 
dred officers  who  were  in  Cairo  and  had  not  yet  been 
paid,  entered  the  Prime  Minister's  chambers  a  few  days 
before  our  arrival  in  the  city,  clamoring  for  their  dues, 
and  refused  to  leave  until  paid.     Some  slight  violence 


3i6  Round  the    World. 

was  even  used  toward  that  functionary,  and  the  English 
agent,  who  came  manfully  to  his  assistance,  was  roughly 
pushed  about.  It  was  finally  arranged  to  pay  all  dis- 
missed soldiers  two  months  of  their  arrears.  The  train 
upon  which  we  travelled  from  Cairo  carried  many  of 
these  men  to  their  homes.  While  the  army  is  not  paid, 
we  see  on  every  hand  unmistakable  proofs  of  the  Khe- 
dive's reckless  personal  extravagance.  Here  lies  his 
grand  steam  yacht  rotting  in  the  harbor.  In  the  sta- 
tion we  noticed  the  imperial  cars  stowed  away ;  on 
the  river  his  large  summer  boat ;  and  every  other 
remarkably  fine  house  in  Cairo  seemed  to  be  one  or 
another  of  the  Khedive's  palaces  or  harems.  The  man 
does  not  seem  to  have  had  the  faintest  idea  of  what  was 
due  to  his  country,  or,  even  worse,  what  was  due  to 
himself.  But  take  the  greatest  and  best  man  in  the 
world,  surround  him  by  people  who  assure  him  morn, 
noon  and  night  that  he  differs  from  other  men,  and  has 
a  born  right  to  their  obedience — make  a  khedive,  or 
czar,  or  king  out  of  him — if  kind  nature  has  not  made  a 
fool  of  him  at  the  start,  men  will  do  it,  and  if  he  has 
brains,  brutality  will  soon  be  added  to  his  folly.  If  he 
hasn't  brains,  then  he  becomes  the  fool  pure  and  simple. 
George  Washington  himself  would  have  been  spoiled 
by  royal  notions  in  less  than  six  months — good  as  he 
was  and  sound  republican  to  boot. 

One  becomes  indignant  with  a  people  so  supine  as 
to  endure  such  waste  and  oppression.      Everything  is 


Land  Question.  317 

taxed,  and  the  masses  of  the  people  are  ground  down  to 
the  lowest  stage  compatible  with  mere  animal  existence. 
England  and  France  have  been  compelled  recently  to 
take  strong  measures  in  order  to  prevent  impending 
ruin.  The  Khedive  not  long  since  dismissed  the  only- 
one  of  his  ministers  who  seemed  to  comprehend  the  state 
of  affairs,  but  I  see  the  faint  remonstrance  of  these 
powers  has  suiificed  to  reinstate  him  ;  in  other  words,  the 
Khedive  has  been  told  he  is  a  figure-head,  to  reign,  not 
to  govern,  and  we  may  hope  for  an  improvement  in  con- 
sequence. The  population  is  only  five  millions,  and  it  is 
estimated  that  at  least  two  millions  more  could  be  sup- 
ported by  the  country;  so  it  seems  that  only  good 
government  is  required  to  restore  Egypt  to  prosperity. 
The  tenure  of  land  is  an  important  question  just  now, 
and  men's  minds  are  disposed  to  give  the  subject  consid- 
eration. Mr.  George's  exciting  book  has  attracted  sur- 
prising attention.  "Thou  shalt  not  sell  the  land  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  for  ever,"  seems  likely  to  prove  correct. 
Eg>'pt  has  a  land  history  of  much  significance.  An- 
ciently the  land  was  the  property  of  the  priests,  and  of 
the  king  and  the  military  class.  Although  there  Avere 
no  castes,  still  the  fact  that  the  son  usually  followed  his 
father's  occupation,  served  the  purpose  of  caste.  Even 
Joseph  did  not  purchase  the  land  of  the  priests  when  he 
bought  all  the  rest.  Before  the  time  of  Mehemet  Ah, 
say  up  to  about  a  hundred  years  ago,  a  kind  of  feudal 
system  prevailed,  but  by  the  massacre  of  the  Mamelukes 


3i8  Round  the   World, 

the  feudal  system  was  destroyed.  Mehemet  AH  seized 
almost  all  the  landed  property,  and  gave  the  owners  pen- 
sions for  life.  There  is  scarcely  such  a  thing  as  private 
tenure  of  land  now  in  Egypt. 

This  little  bit  of  cultivated  land  has  actually  bor- 
rowed in  the  last  fifteen  years  no  less  than  ;^8o,6oo,ooo 
sterling  ($400,000,000).  Twelve  hundred  miles  of  rail- 
way have  been  built,  and  numerous  canals,  harbors,  and 
lighthouses  constructed  ;  but  the  amount  spent  in  useful 
works  bears  but  a  small  proportion  to  that  squandered. 
The  greatest  item  of  all,  however,  is  the  discount  paid 
upon  the  five  successive  loans  by  which  funds  were  ob- 
tained. None  of  these  loans  cost  less  than  12  per  cent, 
per  annum,  while  the  one  for  railways  cost  26  per  cent, 
per  annum.  These  rates,  I  believe,  are  calculated  upon 
the  issue  prices ;  what  commissions  the  bankers  received 
is  unknown.  A  report  upon  the  finances  states  that  the 
Government  received  only  about  one-half  the  amount 
of  the  loans. 

I  have  referred  to  the  discontent  which  had  shown 
itself  in  the  army  during  our  stay  in  Cairo.  How  rapidly 
events  have  travelled  since  then  !  The  rise  of  a  popu- 
lar leader,  Arabi,  who  possessed  the  confidence,  or  at 
least,  who  was  accepted  by  the  people  as  their  only  in- 
strument of  reform, — effectually  put  down  by  the  Eng- 
lish Government,  which  surely  was  misled  by  its  agents 
in  Eg^/pt. 

Now  that  England  has  been  so  foolish  as  to  interfere, 


England  in  Egypt.  319 

but  two  courses  are  open.  She  must  either  rule  Egypt 
as  she  does  India,  or,  what  would  be  infinitely  better  both 
for  Egypt  and  for  England,  retire,  and  allow  the  people 
of  Egypt  to  undertake  the  management  of  their  own 
affairs.  This  would  be  unfortunate  for  the  bondholders, 
no  doubt,  but  it  would  sooner  or  later  secure  for  Egypt 
those  institutions  for  which  she  is  suited.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  England  is  to  see  the  day,  and  that  ere  long, 
when  she  will  bitterly  repent  ever  having  thrown  her 
power  in  the  scale  against  men  who  revolted  at  a 
state  of  affairs  against  which  revolt  was  meritorious,  and 
gave  to  the  world  the  best  proof  that  sufficient  sound 
timber  existed  in  Egypt  to  form  the  nucleus  of  firm 
national  institutions.  England's  position  in  Egypt  is  all 
wrong.  She  of  all  nations  should  know  that  there  are 
stages  in  the  life  of  nations  where  oppression  can  be  over- 
thrown only  by  violent  means.  Ah!  John  Bright  proved 
himself  here  once  more  the  true  statesman.  Had  his 
advice  been  followed,  how  different  might  have  been  the 
result !  But  ere  the  Egyptian  question  is  settled  we  may 
see  stranger  events  still  than  those  which  have  sur- 
prised us. 

The  cry  from  the  moment  you  set  foot  in  Egypt 
until  the  steamer  sails  is  "  Backsheesh !  Backsheesh !" 
Give!  give  !  give  !  Crowds  surround  you  at  every  place, 
and  from  child  to  withered  eld  it  is  an  incessant  chorus. 
If  one  is  weak  enough  to  give  a  piastre  he  is  done  for  ; 
the  crowd  increases,  and  the  roars  of  the  beggars  with  it. 


320  Round  the   World. 

There  is  no  place  in  Egypt  which  can  be  enjoyed,  owing 
to  this  nuisance ;  even  on  the  top  of  the  Pyramid  the 
evil  is  unabated.  Travellers  must  be  to  blame  for  such 
an  annoyance.  For  our  part  we  resolved  never  to  give 
anything  to  a  beggar,  and  adhered  strictly  to  the  rule, 
which  preserved  us  from  many  a  fierce  attack;  but  the 
objects  begging  were  sometimes  piteous-looking  enough 
to  haunt  one. 

The  surest  means  of  obtaining  a  livelihood  as  a  beg- 
gar in  Egypt  is  to  feign  idiocy,  which,  I  am  told,  is 
frequently  done.  Idiots  are  regarded  as  saints,  and  are 
never  restricted  in  their  movements,  maniacs  alone 
being  confined,  and  they  are  often  met  with  in  the 
streets.  My  Swedenborgian  friends  might  account  for 
the  absence  of  sense  being  held  proof  positive  of  the 
saintly  character  by  urging  that  idiots  were  certainly 
free  from  one  of  the  worst  evils  of  this  generation  de- 
nounced by  the  Swedish  Seer  as  "  self-derived  intel- 
ligence." 

The  never  ending  work  of  creation  is  finely  illus- 
trated in  the  remarkable  depression  of  the  northern 
shore  of  Egypt,  which  is  continually  going  on,  notwith- 
standing the  vast  deposits  from  the  many  mouths  of 
the  Nile  annually  discharged  upon  it,  while  on  the 
southern  shore,  near  Suez,  a  contrary  phenomenon  is 
observable.  The  consequence  of  this  movement  is  seen 
in  the  ruins  of  places  on  the  Mediterranean  shore,  and 
the  drying  up  of  large  portions  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez. 


Geologic  Changes.  321 

Indeed  the  bed  of  the  Red  Sea  may  be  traced  for  miles 
north  of  the  town  of  Suez,  which  is  now  at  the  head  of 
the  gulf,  and  places  far  north  of  the  town  were  on  the 
coast  in  historic  times.  An  equally  remarkable  change 
is  observable  in  the  level  of  the  Nile.  Two  thousand 
years  B.C.  it  is  found  that  at  Semneh  the  mean  height 
of  the  famous  river  was  twenty-three  feet  greater  than 
it  is  to-day.  Imagine  what  results  would  flow  from  a 
change  of  the  level  of  the  Mississippi  twenty-three  feet 
higher  or  lower  than  now  !  It  would  change  the  con- 
tinent. While  such  startling  changes  are  found  right 
under  our  own  eyes,  surely  we  do  not  require  the 
"  doctrine  of  catastrophes  "  to  explain  the  creation  of 
this  little  ball — the  earth !  The  silent,  irresistible, 
unchanging  laws  of  Nature  suffice. 

We  arrived  too  late  to  get  a  run  up  the  Nile,  as  the 
boats  had  ceased  to  ply  for  the  season.  There  remained 
but  Cairo  and  Alexandria  to  visit,  and  a  few  days  spent 
at  each  place  exhausts  the  sights;  but  we  concluded 
that  nothing  could  be  more  enjoyable  than  a  three- 
months'  sail  upon  the  Nile,  in  one's  own  boat,  breath- 
ing the  remarkably  pure  and  dry  air  as  it  comes  from 
the  desert,  moving  day  by  day  from  one  to  another 
scene  of  the  far  past,  and  at  night  enjoying  the  un- 
equalled sunsets,  when  it  seems,  as  some  one  has  beauti- 
fully said,  that  "  the  day  was  slowly  dying  of  its  own 
glory."      This  is  the  trip  of  trips  for  an  invalid,  or  for 

one  overtaxed  by  work  or  oppressed  with  sorrow ;  and 
21 


322  Round  the   World. 

for  a  bridal  tour — to  give  the  lovers  plenty  of  time  and 
opportunity  to  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  each 
other — it  can  be  highly  recommended. 

The  rapid  rise  of  our  western  rivers  is  very  differ- 
ent from  the  gradual  swelling  of  the  Nile,  which  begins 
at  Khartoum,  at  the  junction  of  the  White  and  Blue 
Niles,  as  early  as  April  each  year,  but  which  is  not  felt 
at  Cairo  until  after  the  summer  solstice,  while  the 
greatest  height  is  not  reached  till  autumn.  A  good 
flood  gives  a  rise  of  forty  feet  at  the  first  cataract,  and 
about  twenty-five  at  Cairo  ;  a  scanty  rise  is  when  only 
between  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  occurs  at  Cairo.  The 
inundation  is  good  if  it  is  between  twenty-four  and 
twenty-seven  feet ;  if  beyond  the  latter  it  becomes  a 
destructive  flood.  Upon  such  a  narrow  margin — the 
rise  of  a  few  feet  more  or  less  in  the  Nile — depends 
the  entire  crop  of  Egypt !  Once  for  a  period  of  seven 
years  (a.d.  457-464),  the  rise  failed  and  seven  years  of 
famine  ensued.  A  great  engineering  work,  designed  to 
regulate  the  inundation  by  means  of  a  barrage  across 
both  branches  of  the  river  below  Cairo,  was  begun  some 
years  ago,  but,  I  believe,  has  been  abandoned.  When 
Egypt  reaches  good  government  from  within  herself, 
not  through  foreigners,  one  of  its  first  works  should  be 
to  complete  the  barrage.  Surplus  water  will  then  be 
allowed  free  escape,  and  inundations  prevented.  When 
the  flow  is  scanty,  egress  at  the  river  mouths  will  be  re- 
tarded, and  thus  Egypt  will  be  secured  regular  harvests. 


The  Shadoof.  323 

We  watch  men  at  work  everywhere  raising  water 
from  narrow  ditches  to  higher  levels,  that  all  parts  may- 
be irrigated  from  the  fruitful  Nile.  We  could  get  no 
estimate  of  the  amount  of  water  which  one  man  can 
raise  in  a  day;  but  when  human  labor  is  so  cheap,  we 
guessed  that  it  was,  upon  the  whole,  an  economical 
mode.  At  all  events  a  complete  revolution  in  the 
management  of  land,  and  probably  of  its  tenure,  must 
precede  the  general  use  of  machinery  for  this  purpose. 
The  "  shadoof "  of  to-day  is  the  same  in  form  as  that 
used  by  the  ancient  Egyptians.  Two  columns  of  mud, 
or  brick,  erected  at  the  side  of  the  ditch,  support  a 
beam  of  wood,  across  which  is  a  pole  with  a  weight  at 
one  end,  and  a  rude  wooden  bowl-shaped  bucket,  sus- 
pended by  a  stick,  at  the  other.  A  man  stands  under 
the  bucket  and  pulls  it  down  into  the  water.  The 
weight  helps  him  to  push  it  up  to  the  ditch  above, 
where  it  is  emptied.  The  operation  is  very  quickly 
performed,  and  the  bucket  kept  constantly  going.  It 
would  be  hard  to  beat  these  ancient  Egyptian  sha- 
doofs by  any  device  requiring  human  labor  where  the 
amount  of  water  required  is  small.  Water-wheels, 
driven  by  bullocks  or  cows,  and  sometimes  by  one 
animal  only,  are  sometimes  used.  There  is  also  a  double 
shadoof  worked  by  two  men,  and  even  steam  pumps 
are  used  in  extreme  cases  where  the  volume  of  water 
desired  is  unusually  large.  Steam,  no  doubt,  is  ulti- 
mately to  drive  out  the  shadoof,  ancient  as  it  is. 


324  Round  the   World. 

We  had  a  strange  meeting  at  Cairo  upon  entering 
the  breakfast-room  the  morning  after  our  arrival. 
Whom  should  we  be  placed  opposite  to  but  my  friend 
the  Rev.  Mr.  D.,  of  Dunfermline,  my  aunty's  minister, 
nae  less  !  He  was  en  route  to  the  Holy  Land  with  his 
father-in-law ;  but  we  had  several  days  together  at 
Cairo,  and  talked  upon  many  subjects,  from  theology  to 
town  affairs.  I  had  received  a  telegram  the  day  of  his 
departure  which  told  me  my  mother  was  to  sail  from 
New  York  that  very  day  to  join  me  in  Scotland,  as  had 
been  arranged,  and  we  drank  her  health  and  wished  her 
bon  voyage  in  good  style. 

Before  bidding  farewell  to  the  East,  I  wish  to 
indulge  in  just  a  few  general  reflections.  Life  there 
lacks  two  of  its  most  important  elements — the  want  of 
intelligent  and  refined  women  as  the  companion  of  man, 
and  a  Sunday.  It  has  been  a  strange  experience  to  me 
to  be  for  several  months  without  the  society  of  some  of 
this  class  of  women — sometimes  many  weeks  without 
even  speaking  to  one,  and  often  a  whole  week  without 
even  seeing  the  face  of  an  educated  woman.  And, 
bachelor  as  I  am,  let  me  confess  what  a  miserable,  dark, 
dreary,  and  insipid  life  this  would  be  without  their  con- 
stant companionship !  This  brings  everything  that  is 
good  in  its  train,  everything  that  is  bright  and  elevating. 
I  cannot  satisfy  myself  as  to  what  the  man  of  the  East 
has  to  struggle  for,  since  he  has  dethroned  woman  and 
practically  left  her  out  of  his  life.     To  see  a  wealthy 


Influence  of  Woman.  325 

Chinaman  driving  along  in  his  carriage  alone  was  piti- 
able. His  efforts  had  been  successful,  but  for  what? 
There  was  no  joy  in  his  world.  The  very  soul  of  Eu- 
ropean civilization,  its  crown  and  special  glory,  lies  in  the 
elevation  of  woman  to  her  present  position  (she  will 
rise  even  higher  yet  with  the  coming  years),  and  this 
favor  she  has  repaid  a  thousand-fold  by  making  herself 
the  fountain  of  all  that  is  best  in  man.  In  life,  without 
her  there  is  nothing.  Much  as  the  lot  of  woman  in  the 
East  is  to  be  deplored,  that  of  man  is  still  more  deplor- 
able. The  revenge  she  takes  is  terrible,  for  she  drags 
down  with  her,  in  her  debasement,  the  higher  life  of 
man.  I  had  noted  the  absence  of  music  as  one  great 
want.  Not  an  opera  nor  a  concert — not  even  a  hand- 
organ.  Scarcely  a  sweet  sound  in  all  our  journey. 
When  we  found  an  English  church  or  a  regimental 
band,  we  rejoiced.  I  went  to  hear  the  organ  upon 
every  occasion,  and  was  seldom  absent  when  the  band 
played ;  but  were  women  there  as  with  us,  wouldn't 
music  spring  forth  also !  so  that  even  this  want  I  am 
disposed  to  attribute  to  the  first  cause. 

The  absence  of  a  regularly  recurring  day  of  rest 
ranks  next  in  importance,  I  believe,  in  the  list  of  causes 
which  keep  the  East  down  in  the  scale  of  nations. 
With  few  exceptions,  the  race  is  doomed  to  a  life  of 
unremitting  toil — from  morning  till  night,  and  every 
day  without  respite ;  for  festival  and  fete  days  recur- 
ring at  long,  irregular  intervals  are  no  substitute  for 


326  Roimd  the   World. 

the  one  regular  day  to  which  labor  looks  forward  with 
us.  The  prospect  of  one  day  of  rest  frequently  inter- 
vening gives  a  toiler  something  bright  to  look  forward 
to,  without  which  his  life  must  stretch  before  him  as 
one  unceasing,  unvarying  drag.  In  this  one  blessed  day 
his  slavery  ceases,  the  shackles  fall.  He  is  no  longer  a 
brute — fed  and  clothed  solely  because  of  his  physical 
powers,  his  capacity  to  bear  burdens — but  a  higher 
being,  with  tastes,  pleasures,  friends.  Life  becomes 
worth  living.  The  man  puts  on  his  best  clothes — and 
there  is  much  in  this — the  woman  gives  her  cottage 
an  extra  brushing  up.  Something  extra  is  prepared  for 
dinner — there  is  a  great  deal  in  this,  too — and,  in  short, 
the  day  is  marked  by  a  hundred  little  differences  from 
those  of  labor — a  stroll  in  the  fields,  a  visit  to  relatives, 
or  a  meeting  with  neighbors  at  church,  all  in  their  best ; 
and  then  the  sv/elling  organ  and  the  choir — these  things 
lie  closely  at  the  root  of  all  improvements;  and  if  ever 
the  race  is  to  be  lifted  to  a  higher  platform — and  who 
shall  dare  doubt  it? — the  weekly  day  of  rest  will  prove 
itself  an  agency  in  the  good  work  only  second  to  the 
elevation  of  woman. 

The  best  mode  of  improving  its  most  precious  hours 
for  the  toiling  masses  is  therefore  a  question  of  infinite 
moment,  apart  altogether  from  the  question  of  its 
divine  character,  and  viewed  only  as  a  human  enact- 
ment of  the  highest  wisdom.  It  would  seem  clear  that 
to  make  this  only  respite  from    manual   labor  a  day 


Influefice  of  Sunday.  327 

exclusively  set  apart  for  the  mournful  duty  of  bemoan- 
ing  our   manifold    shortcomings — which  must    at  best 
give  rise  to  gloomy  thoughts — would  defeat  the   pur- 
poses I  have  indicated.     I  want  a  compromise — church 
service  in  the  morning,  with  a  sermon  "  leaning  to  the 
side  of  mercy,"  as  Sidney  Smith  suggested,  which  meant 
that  it  should  not  exceed  twenty  minutes,  for,  as  one 
wit  says,  ''  a  minister  who  can't  strike  ile  in  twenty  min- 
utes should  quit    boring'' — and    then    the   fields    and 
streams  for  the  toilers  who  are  cooped  up  in  factories  and 
workshops  all  the  week  long,  or  a  visit  to  picture  gal- 
leries, museums,  or  to  musical  concerts  of  a  high  order 
in  huge  centres — for  in  London  and  a  village  it  is  not 
the  same  question  at  all — to  anything  that  would  tend 
to  brighten  their  existence.     I  am  now  convinced  that 
there  is  an  important  change  to  be  made  in  the  mode 
of  keeping  our  Sundays — the  cessation  of  labor,  as  far 
as  it  is  possible,  to  remain  a  cardinal  point,  but  better 
facilities  to  be  provided  for  cultivating  the  higher  tastes 
of  our  poor  workers,  that  the  day  may  be  to  them  in- 
deed "  the  golden  jewel  which  clasps  the  circle  of  the 
week." 

One  more  observation  upon  the  East  and  I  am 
done:  the  work  that  England  is  doing  there.  You 
know  that  she  has  in  one  way  or  another  obtained  the 
keys  to  the  East.  Some  islands  she  owns ;  some  small 
strips  of  the  mainland  she  also  has  acquired  and  gov- 
erns; at    Shanghai,  Hong   Kong,  and  other  points  in 


328  Round  the   World. 

China;  at  Singapore,  Penang,  Ceylon,  Aden,  Malta,  and 
indeed  all  through  our  journey,  we  stand  now  and  then 
on  British  soil.  And  wherever  the  meteor  flag  floats, 
there  you  find  order,  freedom,  schools,  churches,  dispens- 
aries, clean  streets,  hospitals,  newspapers,  justice;  and 
under  that  flag  you  will  find  thousands  of  Chinamen 
and  Malays,  Indians,  Cingalese,  Arabs — indeed  men  of 
all  races — settled  and  enjoying  the  blessings  of  good 
government.  No  revolution  there,  no  slavery,  no  arbi- 
trary arrest,  nor  forced  levy.  As  a  native  lawyer  in 
India  said  to  me — he  talked  freely  because  of  our 
American  look — "There  is  between  natives  under  Eng- 
lish rule  perfect  justice ;  but,"  he  added,  "  every  one 
must  behave  himself.  There  is  no  war  nor  plundering 
when  one  settles  under  them,  for  these  English  wont 
stand  any  nonsense,  and  they  will  have  peace." 

England,  therefore,  has  planted  throughout  the  East 
small  models  of  perfectly  governed  little  States,  enjoy- 
ing all  the  blessings  of  the  highest  civilization.  Daily 
and  hourly  these  teach  their  lesson  to  the  native  races, 
and  when  they  do  acquire  this  lesson — and  who  that  be- 
lieves in  the  progress  of  mankind  can  doubt  but  the 
day  must  come  ? — they  will  look  westward  with  grate- 
ful hearts  and  say,  "All  this  we  owe  to  thee,  noble 
England  !  " 

But  while  this  is  true,  there  is  another  phase  of 
England's  work  to  which  I  have  referred  in  my  remarks 
upon    India.      The   source   of    England's    good   work 


Catania.  329 

springs  from  example.  It  is  where  the  native  races  are 
drawn  to  her  standard,  as  at  the  many  points  named, 
where  their  freedom  is  not  destroyed,  that  great  re- 
sults can  alone  be  looked  for.  This  is  the  very  reverse 
of  England's  position  in  India.  She  stands  there  as  the 
destroyer  of  native  institutions,  and  forces  her  views 
upon  an  unwilling  people  wholly  unprepared  to  receive 
them,  instead  of  resting,  as  at  Hong  Kong,  Singapore, 
Aden,  and  such  places,  saying  to  the  natives,  "Come, 
try  our  system,  and,  if  you  like  it,  remain  and  share  its 
benefits."  Nothing  but  good  can  result  from  the  latter, 
and  nothing  really  good  can  flow  from  the  former ;  the 
injury  done  must  more  than  absorb  any  temporary 
gains.  Force  is  no  remedy;  and  some  of  these  years, 
unless  the  ablest  natives  are  induced  to  participate  in 
the  government  of  India,  and  soon  allowed  the  chief 
control,  England  will  rise  to  a  rude  awakening. 


Alexandria,  Friday,  March  14, 

Off  at  nine  this  morning  for  Naples,  taking  Sicily 
en  route.  The  voyage  was  a  smooth  one,  and  we  landed 
at  Catania  upon  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day.  As  we 
stepped  ashore  we  felt  in  a  moment  that  we  were  once 
more  within  the  bounds  of  civilization.  What  a  differ- 
ence between  this  and  the  East !  And  there  frowned 
Mount  Etna,  ten  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level, 
thirty  miles  distant,  and  yet  seemingly  so  near  we 
thought  that  we  could  almost  walk  over  to  its  base 


330  Round  the   World. 

after  breakfast.  We  ascended  a  small  hill  in  the 
centre  of  the  city — which,  by  the  way,  has  a  population 
of  a  hundred  thousand — and  there  lay  Sicily  spread  out 
before  us  in  all  its  wondrous  beauty.  Lemon  and 
orange  groves  in  full  bearing,  and  fields  of  vines  just 
budding;  and  in  the  town  clean  paved  streets  and  pave- 
ments, which  are  unknown  in  the  East  ;  people  with 
shoes  and  stockings  on ;  statues  and  fountains,  and  a 
good  old  cathedral;  harps  and  violins,  and  the  chime  of 
church  going  bells.  Ah!  Western  civilization  is  not  a 
mistake,  nor  a  myth,  nor  a  thing  of  doubtful  value,  as 
we  can  testify.  At  least  so  thought  two  happy  travel- 
lers in  Sicily  that  bright  balmy  morning,  as  they  felt 
how  blessed  a  thing  it  was  to  be  once  more  in  a  civilized 
country. 

The  pretty  island  of  Sicily  (Sechelia,  as  the  Italians 
pronounce  it)  contains  nearly  three  millions  of  people — 
nearly  as  many  as  Scotland — and  supports  them  almost 
entirely  by  the  produce  of  the  land,  for  manufactures 
are  little  known.  The  olive  and  the  vine  are  every- 
where, and  the  crops  of  oranges  and  lemons  go  to  most 
parts  of  the  world.  An  English  gentleman  told  us  he 
had  bought  oranges  in  the  season  for  one  cent  per 
dozen.  There  is  one  item  of  export  of  rather  peculiar 
character — sulphur — which  is  obtained  from  the  vol- 
cano. We  saw  it  drawn  through  the  streets  in  large 
blocks. 

Only  two  hundred  years  ago  an  eruption  of  Mount 


Motmt  Etna.  331 

Etna  took  place,  and  27,000  people  were  buried  by  the 
lava.  We  saw  where  the  stream  had  rushed  down  from 
the  crater  through  part  of  the  town,  and  far  into  the 
sea — almost  a  mile  in  width,  and  thirty  miles  from  its 
source,  bearing  destruction  to  everything  in  its  course, 
and  yet  to-day  fine  new  houses  stand  upon  the  cold 
lava,  and  away  up  and  along  the  sides  of  the  volcano 
for  miles  are  to  be  seen  cottages  clustering  thickly  to- 
gether, the  inmates  busily  engaged  in  cultivating  their 
vineyards.  It  was  only  a  few  days  ago  the  monster 
gave  a  warning  and  shook  these  houses ;  but  they  still 
"  sit  under  their  vine  and  sing  the  merry  songs  of  peace 
to  all  their  neighbors"  —  these  merry,  light-hearted 
Sicilians! — as  if  they  had  Mount  Etna  under  perfect 
control. 

The  railway  skirts  the  shores  of  the  island  for  its 
entire  length — some  fifty  miles — and  a  more  beautiful 
ride  is  not  to  be  seen  in  all  the  world.  It  is  a  succession 
of  fine  old  castles,  in  perfect  ruin,  upon  every  petty 
promontory,  and  we  go  through  nothing  but  orange 
and  lemon  groves  and  vineyards.  We  pass  at  the  base 
of  Mount  Etna;  but  although  all  was  smiling  in  the 
valleys  below,  its  top  was  enveloped  in  dark  clouds  and 
busy  with  the  thunder  and  the  storm. 

Messina  is  a  very  quaint  Italian  city.  The  funeral 
services  of  a  distinguished  lady  were  in  progress  when 
we  stepped  into  the  cathedral,  which  was  illuminated 
with  hundreds  of  candles — I  think  I  might  say  almost  a 


332  Round  the   World. 

thousand — the  interior  being  one  mass  of  h'ght,  which 
shone  with  strange  effect  upon  the  rich  black  velvet 
with  which  the  walls  were  draped.  A  lady  in  our  party- 
counted  the  carriages  as  they  passed,  and  told  us  there 
were  fifty-three,  most  of  which  would  compare  favor- 
ably with  those  of  New  York  or  London.  This  will 
give  you  some  idea  of  the  richness  of  Messina,  which 
we  had  thought  to  be  an  unimportant  town. 

The  Sicilians  are  strict  Roman  Catholics  and  com- 
pletely under  the  dominion  of  that  faith.  There  is 
scarcely  a  trace  of  dissent  to  be  found.  When  we  were 
about  to  sail  from  Messina  for  Naples  a  priest  walked 
upon  the  deck  and  collected  contributions  from  the  de- 
vout passengers,  for  which  in  return  he  was  expected  to 
give  to  our  good  ship  the  august  protection  of  Holy 
Mother  Church.  We  noticed  that  all  the  passengers 
contributed  and  received  his  blessing  with  much  solem- 
nity. Faith  is  still  there.  They  were  going  to  sea 
— probably  a  first  experience  to  most  if  not  all  of  them, 
and  were  naturally  apprehensive.  Should  we  have  a 
stormy  night,  no  doubt,  notwithstanding  their  bargain 
with  the  priest,  some  will  resolve  with  good  Dame  Par- 
tington that  under  like  circumstances  if  ever  she  set 
her  foot  on  dry  land  she  would  never  again  trust  her- 
self "  so  far  out  of  the  reach  of  Providence."  But  my 
mother  remembers  well  that  when  a  member  of  the  con- 
gregation was  about  to  start  from  Dunfermline  to  Lon- 
don, a  rare  event  in  those  days,  though  not  so  very  long 


Mount  Vesuvius.  'T^'i^'i) 

ago,  that  his  safety  was  ahvays  prayed  for  in  church.  I 
mentioned  this  to  Vandy  when  he  was  deploring  the  ig- 
norance and,  as  he  thought,  the  impiety  of  the  Sicilians. 
We  are  not  entirely  free  from  superstition  ourselves,  and 
were  in  the  last  generation  where  the  Sicilians  are  in 
this. 

The  scene  in  "  The  Tempest,"  the  enchanted  isle, 
must  have  been  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sechelia,  and 
surely  no  fitter  region  in  all  the  world  could  be  found ; 
indeed  I  found  sweet  Sechelia  so  enchanting  that  I 
voted  it  the  very  spot,  and  selected  my  Prospero's  Cave 
on  the  glittering  shore  within  sight  of  Mount  Etna. 


Bay  of  Naples,  Thursday,  IMarch  20. 

Early  morning!  Yes,  my  dear  friends,  it  is  roimd. 
Here  stands  Mount  Vesuvius  in  full  view  this  morning, 
making  for  itself  pure  white  clouds  of  steam,  which 
float  in  the  otherwise  clear,  cloudless  sky  of  Italy.  No 
entering  the  crater  now  as  we  did  before,  for  the  vol- 
cano is  no  longer  at  rest.  Vandy  and  I  shake  hands  and 
recall  our  pledge  made  in  the  crater  years  ago,  and  say, 
"  Well,  that  is  now  fulfilled,  and  may  life  only  have  for 
us  in  its  unknown  future  another  such  five  months  of 
unalloyed  happiness  (save  where  the  dark  shades  of 
death  among  friends  at  home  have  saddened  the  hours) 
as  those  we  have  been  so  privileged  to  enjoy." 

It  is  well  never  to  be  without  something  to  look 
forward  to,  and  speculate  upon ;  and  by  a  happy  chance 


334  Rotcnd  the   Woi^ld. 

Vandy  and  I  have  hit  upon  our  next  excursion,  when 
we  shall  have  earned  another  vacation  by  useful  work. 
The  very  thought  of  it  already  brings  us  pleasure. 
And  so,  all  hail,  sunny  Italia !  What  a  picture  this 
Bay  of  Naples  is!  We  sail  past  our  former  haunts, 
Capri  and  Sorrento,  and  are  soon  in  our  hotel  at  Na- 
ples, where  we  are  delighted  to  rejoin  our  friends. 

From  this  time  forth  it  is  impossible  but  that  a 
change  must  occur  in  the  character  of  these  notes. 
There  is  a  first  time  to  everything,  and  it  is  first  impres- 
sions which  I  have  endeavored  honestly  to  convey ;  but 
my  first  impressions  of  Europe  were  obtained  years  ago. 
The  gloss  and  enthusiasm  of  novelty  are  wanting.  The 
sober  second  thought  is  proverbial ;  but  there  is  a  sober 
second  sight  as  well,  and  it  is  this  I  am  about  to  take. 
Besides  this,  Europe  is  more  familiar  to  everybody  than 
the  East.  Many  know  it  through  personal  experi- 
ence, and  I  shall  therefore  content  myself  with  giving 
the  salient  features  of  our  homeward  progress  from  this 
point. 

We  find  Naples,  Sorrento,  Capri,  and  all  the  pretty 
spots  around  the  bay  much  improved  since  our  last 
visit.  The  people  seem  to  us  to  be  remarkably  fine- 
looking,  but  perhaps  this  is  mainly  owing  to  the  miser- 
able races  we  have  been  seeing  lately.  The  museum 
which  contains  the  principal  treasures  found  at  Pompeii 
and  Herculaneum  is  greatly  improved,  and  one  has  no 
difficulty  now  in  determining  just  how  the  people  of 


The  Blue  Grotto.  335 

those  cities  lived.  There  are  even  models  of  the  houses 
shown.  The  frescoes  and  sculptures  are  far  finer  than 
I  had  remembered  them,  and  indeed  there  are  so  many- 
articles  of  furniture  and  dom.estic  utensils  that  one  can- 
not help  admitting  that  those  who  argue  that  man  trav- 
els in  a  circle  just  as  the  world  goes  round,  and  never 
advances,  have  some  ground  for  their  theory  in  these  re- 
markable productions  of  the  first  century.  We  are  in 
the  land  of  music,  sure  enough !  Here  is  the  list  of 
operas  to  be  performed  to-night,  apart  from  numerous 
dramatic  performances:  "Norma,"  "  Sonnambula," 
"  La  Belle  Helene,"  "  Martha."  You  will  please  take 
it  for  granted  that  our  nights  here,  with  few  excep- 
tions, will  be  spent  hearing  one  or  another  opera,  for  of 
all  the  pleasures  of  civilized  society  which  m'C  have 
missed  most  in  our  travels,  we  rank  first  after  the 
absence  of  refined  women  the  total  absence  of  music. 
We  hunger  for  sweet  sounds. 

We  were  fortunate  this  time  in  getting  into  the 
Blue  Grotto — the  sea  being  quite  smooth.  The  reflec- 
tions upon  the  rocky  roof  were  not  as  fine  as  we 
expected ;  but  Miss  N.  pronounced  the  water  "  the 
prettiest  blue  that  ever  was,"  and  she  is  an  authority 
upon  color.  While  at  Capri  we  ascended  to  the  villa  of 
Tiberius,  on  the  edge  of  a  perpendicular  cliff  nearly  two 
thousand  feet  high.  It  was  from  this  rock  that  ruler 
was  wont  to  throw  his  victims  into  the  sea.  He  found 
they  never  troubled  him  again.     And  now  I  write  amid 


336  Rotind  the   World, 

the  orange  groves  of  Sorrento,  where  we   have   been 
spending  a  few  days. 

We  have  just  finished,  in  company  with  our  friends, 
a  three-days*  excursion  to  Paestum,  embracing  the  fa- 
mous drive  along  the  coast  to  Amalfi.  Certainly  I  know 
nothing  of  the  kind  in  the  world  equal  to  this  road  in 
grandeur,  and  if  any  of  you  ever  visit  Naples  I  advise 
you  to  let  nothing  interfere  with  your  going  to  Amalfi. 
At  Sorrento  we  joined  our  friends,  Mr.  H.  and  party, 
and  our  Windsor  Hotel  delegation  was  further  and 
happily  augmented  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  I.  and  family. 
Can  you  wonder  that  our  daily  excursions  were  de- 
lightful ? 


Rome,  March  26. 
Rome  once  more!  What  a  change!  A  miniature 
Paris  has  been  added  to  old  Rome  since  we  first  saw  it, 
and  even  old  Rome  itself  is  modernized  completely. 
Much  of  the  picturesque  is  lost,  but  well  lost,  since  it 
brings  us  clean  streets,  improved  dwellings,  and  all  the 
accompaniments  of  progress ;  but,  notwithstanding  its 
now  greater  likeness  to  modern  cities,  it  is  not  with  these 
Rome  vies.  Her  empire  is  not  of  to-day,  but  over  the 
mighty  past  she  alone  holds  undisputed  sway,  and 
the  spirit  of  ages  gone  still  infuses  itself  into  every- 
thing in  Rome.  I  thought  even  modern  structures 
were  unlike  their  fellows  elsewhere,  as  if  the  mere  fact 
that  they  stood  in  Rome  invested  them  with  a  peculiar 


Rome.  2^'^'] 

halo  of  classic  dignity  and  importance.  Then  Rome 
still  has  to  boast  of  so  many  of  the  best  things  which 
the  world  has  to  show.  No  other  cathedral  is  so  grand 
as  St.  Peter's  nor  so  beautiful  as  St.  Paul's ;  no  other 
"bit  of  color"  is  equal  to  the  Transfiguration;  no 
other  heroic  statue  is  to  be  compared  with  the  Au- 
gustus; nowhere  else  is  so  sweet  a  girl-face  as  the 
Cenci ;  no  other  group  is  to  be  named  with  the  Laocoon, 
no  other  fresco  with  the  Aurora ;  and  where  is  there 
another  Moses,  or  Apollo  Belvedere,  or  Antinous,  or 
where  is  there  vocal  music  so  heavenly  as  that  of  the 
Pope's  choir?  Nowhere.  And  so  it  comes  that  the 
world  still  flocks  to  Rome,  and  must  continue  its  pil- 
grimage hither  to  this  Mecca  for  a  thousand  years  to 
come  ;  and  artists  by  the  score,  day  after  day,  multiply 
copies  of  these  wonders  of  art,  the  recognized  "  best " 
in  their  various  classes  which  man  has  yet  brought 
forth.  All  these  works,  and  others  unmentioned,  I  re- 
turned to  with  enhanced  pleasure.  They  all  seemed 
greater  and  finer  to  me  than  when  I  saw  them  before. 
I  had  not  forgotten  them,  while  the  mass  of  mediocre 
works  had  left  no  trace. 

It  is  thus  that  the  true  fire  of  genius  vindicates  its 
right  to  immortality.  Generations  may  come  and  go, 
fashions  and  tastes  may  change,  but  "  a  thing  of  beauty  " 
remains  "a  joy  forever."  While  the  statues  and  pictures 
of  Rome,  therefore,  gave  me  far  greater  pleasure  than 
before,  I  have  to  confess  that  the  historical  associations 

22 


338  Round  the  World. 

gave  me  much  less.  When  in  Rome  before  I  was  over- 
flowing with  Shakespeare,  Byron  and  Macaulay,  and 
would  wander  away  alone  and  recite  to  myself  on  the 
appropriate  sites  the  passages  connected  with  them. 
This  time  I  fear  our  friends  proved  too  congenial.  We 
dwelt  too  much  in  the  happy  present  to  give  ourselves 
up  to  the  historical  past ;  but  I  do  not  think  one  gets 
the  sweetest  juices  out  of  Rome  unless  he  gives  way  to 
the  melancholy  vein  now  and  then,  and  "  stalks  apart  in 
joyless  reverie." 

Another  reason  for  the  difference  suggests  itself. 
One  fresh  from  Egypt,  where  he  has  been  digging 
among  the  five  thousand  years  B.C.,  and  lost  in  amaze- 
ment at  what  the  race  was  even  then  producing,  must 
experience  some  difficulty  in  getting  up  a  respectable 
amount  of  enthusiasm  for  structures  so  recent  as  the 
time  of  Christ ;  the  "  rascally  comparative  "  intrudes  to 
chill  it  with  its  cold  breath. 

There  is  a  third  reason,  perhaps — and  reasons  do 
seem  as  plenty  as  blackberries,  no\v  that  I  begin  to 
write  them  down — we  are  so  near  home  the  echoes  of 
business  affairs  begin  to  sound  in  our  ears.  We  snuff 
the  battle  as  it  were  afar  off.  It  is  impossible  to  be- 
come so  entirely  absorbed  in  the  story  of  the  Cenci  as 
to  prevent  the  morning's  telegram  from  home  intrud- 
ing, and  so  it  came  about  that  this  time  we  did  less 
moralizing  than  before.  We  were  fortunate  in  being  in 
Rome  during  Easter  Week,  which  gave  us  an  opportu- 


Roman  Studios.  339 

nity  to  hear  the  best  music ;  and  certainly  there  is  no 
choir  for  vocal  music  which  can  rank  with  that  of  the 
Pope.  It  is  the  only  choir  I  ever  heard  which  I  felt  the 
finest  organ  would  spoil.  It  produces  a  strange  and 
powerful  effect,  the  music  itself  seeming  to  be  of  a 
peculiar  order  unlike  any  other.  One  of  our  young 
ladies,  describing  her  feelings  to  a  friend,  said  that  at 
one  time  she  felt  she  was  really  in  heaven  ;  but  when 
the  ''  Miserere  "  broke  forth,  she  knew  she  was  only  a 
poor  sinner  struggling  to  get  there. 

We  visited,  with  our  friends,  the  various  studios. 
In  painting  there  does  not  appear  to  be  a  high  standard 
of  excellence.  The  Roman  school  does  not  stand  well, 
but  in  statuary  it  is  better.  A  young  American  artist, 
Mr.  Harnisch,  seemed  to  me  to  be  doing  the  most 
creditable  work.  His  busts  have  already  given  him  rep- 
utation, and  he  has  a  figure  now  in  plaster,  **  Anti- 
gone," which  I  rate  as  the  best  classical  statue  in  proc- 
ess of  completion  which  we  saw.  This  young  artist  is 
not  probably  as  good  a  manager  as  some  of  his  more 
pretentious  countrymen,  and,  I  fear,  we  are  to  wait 
some  time  before  a  Congressional  committee  can  be  in- 
duced to  give  him  a  commission  ;  but  in  the  opinion 
of  real  Italian  sculptors  he  is  an  artist.  There  are  those 
who  have  "adorned"  our  public  edifices  with  huge 
works  to  whom  certainly  no  one  outside  of  America 
would  apply  the  name.  We  shall  hear  of  Mr.  Harnisch 
by-and-by ;  he  is  young,  and  can  wait. 


340  Round  the   World. 

I  was  highly  gratified  at  making  the  acquaintance 
of  Dr.  Smiles,  author  of  "  Self-Help,"  and  that  favorite 
of  mine,  "  The  Scotch  Naturalist,"  and  other  valued 
works.  He  is  a  most  delightful  companion  and  a  true 
Scotchman,  and  hadn't  we  '*  a  canny  day  thegether  "  at 
Tivoli !  Through  him  I  met  Mr.  William  Black,  who  is 
a  small,  young  man,  with  a  face  that  lights  up,  and  eyes 
that  sparkle  through  his  spectacles.  Mr.  Petty,  R.A., 
and  he  were  doing  Italy  together,  and  no  doubt  we  are 
to  see  traces  of  their  travels  in  their  respective  lines  ere 
long. 


Florence,  Wednesday,  April  9. 
We  spent  a  few  days  in  Florence,  but  it  rained 
almost  continually,  as  indeed  it  has  done  all  winter. 
This  has  been  the  most  disagreeable  season  ever  known 
in  Italy,  we  hear  from  every  quarter.  Sight-seeing  re- 
quires sunshine  :  but  we  nevertheless  did  the  galleries, 
and  were  delighted  with  the  masterpieces  for  which  the 
city  is  famed.  The  statuary,  however,  is  much  inferior 
to  that  of  Rome.  In  the  way  of  painting  I  was  most 
interested  in  comparing  the  numerous  Madonnas  of 
Raphael,  and  seeing  how  he,  at  last,  reached  "  the  face 
of  all  the  world  "  in  the  San  Sisto.  He  seems  to  have 
held  as  loyally  as  a  true  knight  to  his  first  love.  His 
Madonnas  have  all  the  same  type  of  face.  You  could 
never  hesitate  about  their  authorship.  Emphatically 
they  are  one  and  all  *'  Raphael's  Madonnas,"   and  very 


Florence.  341 

much  alike — even  the  one  which  the  Grand  Duke  loved 
so  fondly  as  to  take  it  about  with  him  wherever  he 
travelled  is  only  a  little  sweeter  than  the  rest.  It  is  a 
strange  fact  that  it  was  not  by  painting  Madonnas  at  all 
the  master  obtained  his  inspiration.  He  painted  the 
portrait  of  a  lady,  which  is  still  seen  in  the  Pitti  Palace, 
from  whose  face  he  drew  the  lacking  halo  of  awe  and 
sublimity.  He  idealized  this  woman's  face,  and  the 
San  Sisto  came  to  satisfy  all  one  can  imagine  about  the 
Madonna.  But  the  face  of  Christ  !  Who  shall  paint  it 
satisfactorily  ?  No  one.  This  is  something  beyond  the 
region  of  art.  A  divine-human  face  cannot  be  depicted, 
and  all  the  efforts  I  have  seen  are  not  only  failures 
which  one  can  lament,  but  many  are  caricatures  at 
which  one  becomes  indignant.  I  was  greatly  pleased 
that  a  true  artist,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  realized  this,  and 
painted  his  Christ  with  averted  head.  Every  great 
painter  in  older  times  seems  to  have  thought  it  incum- 
bent upon  him  to  paint  a  Christ,  and  consequently  you 
meet  them  everywhere.  As  for  the  "  Fathers  "  {i.e., 
Jehovah)  one  sees,  these  seem  to  me  positively  sacri- 
legious. I  wonder  the  arms  of  the  men  who  ventured 
upon  such  sacred  ground  did  not  wither  at  their  sides. 
To  paint  old  men  with  tremendous  white  flowing 
beards — a  cross  between  Santa  Claus  and  Bluebeard — 
and  call  them  God  !  Here  is  materialism  for  you  with 
a  vengeance.  These  audacious  men  forgot  that  He 
was  not  seen  in  the  whirlwind,  neither  in  the  storm, 


342  Rotcnd  the   World. 

but  never  seen  at  all ;  only  heard  in  the  still,  small 
voice. 

Of  course  I  visited  Mrs.  Browning's  grave  in  Flor- 
ence. I  had  the  melancholy  satisfaction  of  hearing, 
from  one  who  knew  her  intimately,  many  details  con- 
cerning her  life  here.  Mr.  Browning  left  Florence  the 
day  after  she  died,  leaving  the  house,  his  books,  papers, 
and  even  unfinished  letters,  as  they  were  when  he  was 
called  to  her  bedside  the  night  before,  and  has  never 
returned;  nor  has  he  ever  been  known  to  mention  her 
name,  or  to  refer  to  the  blow  which  left  him  alone  in 
the  world.  He  seems  to  have  been  worthy  even  of  a 
love  like  hers.  We  stayed  over  two  days  at  Milan  to 
see  friends,  and  while  there  ascended  to  see  once  more 
the  celebrated  cathedral.  It  is  finer — I  do  not  say 
grander — but  much  finer,  especially  as  seen  from  the 
roof,  than  any  other  building  in  Europe. 

From  Milan  we  went  to  Turin,  and  spent  a  day 
there,  as  we  had  never  seen  that  city.  It  is  prettily 
situated,  very  clean,  with  regular  streets,  but  without 
any  special  objects  of  interest.  The  splendid  view  of 
the  snow-clad  Alps,  and  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Po,  as 
seen  from  the  monastery,  fully  repaid  us  for  the  day 
given  to  Turin.  We  leave  Italy  in  the  morning.  It  is 
impossible  not  to  like  the  country  and  to  be  deeply 
interested  in  its  future.  While  it  has  made  consider- 
able progress  since  the  genius  of  Cavour  made  it  once 
more  a  nation,  still  its  path  is  just  now  beset  with  dan- 


Paris.  343 

gers.  A  standing  army  of  six  hundred  thousand  and 
all  the  concomitants  of  royalty  to  maintain,  and  a  large 
national  debt  upon  which  interest  has  to  be  paid — 
these  require  severe  taxation,  and  even  with  this  the 
revenues  show  a  deficit.  That  last  resort,  paper  cur- 
rency, has  been  sought,  and  now  the  circulating  medium 
— although  "  based  on  the  entire  property  of  the  na- 
tion," as  our  demagogues  phrase  it — is  at  a  discount  of 
ten  per  cent.,  which  threatens  to  increase. 

But  the  chief  trouble  arises  from  the  religious  diffi- 
culty— that  sad  legacy  from  the  past,  of  which,  fortu- 
nately, a  new  land  like  America  knows  nothing.  The 
Pope  and  all  strict  Catholics  stand  coldly  aloof  from 
the  government,  ready  to  give  trouble  whenever  oppor- 
tunity offers.  But  I  have  faith  in  Italy.  She  will  con- 
quer her  enemies,  and  once  again  be  a  great  power 
worthy  of  her  glorious  past.  All  her  troubles,  however, 
are  not  to  seek. 


Paris,  Thursday,  May  i. 
Now  comes  somewhat  of  a  return  to  the  more  pro- 
saic side  of  life.  We  made  an  excursion  to  the  famous 
iron  and  steel  works  of  the  Schneider  Company  at 
Creuzot.  What  a  concern  this  is,  and  how  small  we  all 
are  upon  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  !  Fifteen  thou- 
sand five  hundred  men  are  employed  here.  We  saw 
fifteen  steam  hammers  in  one  shop.  The  mill  for  roll- 
ing only  is  1,500  by  350  feet,  filled  with  trains.     The 


344  Round  the    World. 

giant,  however,  is  the  8o-ton  steam  hammer,  with  its 
huge  appHances.  Masses  of  steel  35  tons  in  weight  are 
handled  as  readily  as  we  move  a  rail  ingot.  One  ingot 
of  steel  weighing  120  tons  was  shown  to  us.  This 
monster  hammer  is  required  only  for  armor  plate  and 
guns — war  material.  The  happier  demands  of  peaceful 
industry  are  met  with  ordinary  machinery.  Long  may 
it  be,  therefore,  before  America  can  boast  an  engine  of 
even  half  the  size.  Our  visit  to  Creuzot  was  both 
interesting  and  instructive.  Mr.  Schneider  and  his 
officers  were  most  cordial  and  attentive  to  us. 

We  spend  a  few  days  in  Paris,  which  shows  even 
more  than  the  other  cities  we  have  revisited  the  march 
of  improvement.  It  is  farther  beyond  competition  in 
its  line  than  it  ever  was.  I  appreciate  its  attractions 
more  than  I  have  done  upon  previous  visits;  but  one 
must  be  exceptionally  strong  who  can  persist  in  leading 
an  earnest  and  useful  life  here,  where  so  much  exists  to 
persuade  one  that  after  all  amusement  is  the  principal 
thing  to  be  sought  for.  Most  of  the  American  residents 
seem  to  me  to  sink  naturally  to  the  level  of  thinking 
most — or  certainly  talking  most — of  the  newest  opera, 
or  even  the  best  ballet,  or  where  is  to  be  found  the  best 
table  d'hote ;  but,  after  all,  what  can  a  man  do  who 
leaves  his  own  country,  and  the  duties  incumbent  upon 
him  there,  to  become  a  man  about  town  here,  with  no 
work  in  the  world  to  do.  Good  Americans  come  here 
when  they  die,   it  is  said.      I  think  it  would  be  well 


French  Soldiers.  34c 

for  most  of  them  if  they  did  postpone  their  journey 
until  then. 

As  we  have  travelled  through  France  bands  of  the 
"  Reserves "  have  been  constantly  seen  repairing  to 
their  camps.  Every  Frenchman  now,  without  excep- 
tion, must  serve  as  a  soldier  and  drill  at  least  one 
month  every  year.  No  substitutes  are  allowed.  Sol- 
diers !  soldiers  everywhere !  Not  a  petty  town  at 
which  we  have  stayed  over  night  but  has  its  barracks — 
its  troops  who  parade  its  streets  every  morning.  The 
entire  male  population  is  being  trained  so  as  most  skil- 
fully to  murder,  upon  the  first  favorable  opportunity, 
such  of  their  fellow-Christians  who  may  happen  to  be 
called  Germans,  while  in  Germany  a  similar  state  of  alTairs 
is  rendered  necessary  to  prevent  the  success  of  their 
"  brothers' "  intention.  You  see  there  was  a  frontier 
that  was  not  "  scientific,"  and  it  was  "  rectified  "  a  few 
years  ago ;  but  these  rectifications,  of  all  things  in  the 
world,  never  remain  rectified,  and  so  we  are  to  awake 
some  fine  morning  to  find  the  "  civilized  "  Christian  (!) 
nations  (save  the  mark !)  nobly  engaged  in  butchering 
each  other,  even  if  this  is  the  nineteenth  century  and 
we  all  worship  Christ  and  have  the  same  Father  in 
heaven.  That  thoughtful  educated  people,  even  in  Eng- 
land and  America,  can  still  deliberately  send  a  son  "  to 
the  army,"  to  be  taught  the  butchering  trade,  his  victims 
being  human,  always  saddens  me  when  I  think  of  it. 
The  progress  of  the  world  has  not  only  been  slow  but 


34^  Ro2md  the    World, 

small,  till  the  profession  of  arms,  as  it  is  called,  is  held 
to  be  unfit  except  for  men  of  brutal  natures. 

In  Italy  it  is  much  the  same.  She  has  600,000  men 
under  arms,  and  is  drilling  others,  while  Russia  has  just 
ordered  an  addition  to  her  hosts  exceeding  five-fold  the 
entire  American  army.  England's  war  expenditure  this 
year  exceeds  that  of  only  five  years  ago  by  $30,000,000, 
which  is  more  than  America  spends  for  her  army  alto- 
gether. And  so  the  whole  of  Europe  is  armed  and 
arming,  as  if  conscious  that  a  storm  is  about  to  burst, 
or  at  least  that  such  a  stupendous  drain  upon  her  pro- 
ductive resources  has  to  be  endured  to  insure  safety. 
Happy  America!  she  alone  seems  to  occupy  a  position 
free  from  grave  and  imminent  dangers. 


London. 

Our  next  step  brought  us  to  monster  London,  where 
we  attended  the  interesting  meeting  of  the  British  Iron 
and  Steel  Institute,  and  being  called  upon  as  the  only 
representative  of  American  iron  and  steel  manufacturers 
present,  I  had  to  venture  a  few  remarks.  Whatever 
England  may  be  justly  chargeable  with  in  the  past  for 
her  neglect  of  scientific  methods  and  the  improvements 
of  the  day,  it  is  evident  she  now  occupies  the  van  in 
this  respect. 

No  one  could  be  present  at  these  meetings  without 
being  impressed  with  the  amount  and  thoroughness  of 
the  scientific  knowledge  now  engaged  in  the  iron  and 


Londo7i.  347 


o' 


steel  manufacture  of  Great  Britain.  Not  less  remark- 
able seemed  to  me  the  willingness  upon  the  part  of  all 
to  report  and  explain  every  advance  made  in  the 
various  processes  to  their  fellows.  The  old  idea  of 
trade  secrets  seems  thoroughly  exploded,  and  a  free 
interchange  of  practice  and  theory  is  now  seen  to  be 
the  best  for  all.  I  cannot  but  believe  that  had  the 
manufacturers  of  America  adopted  this  policy  years 
ago,  many  millions  squandered  in  the  erection  of  works 
at  unsuitable  locations  would  have  been  saved.  It 
struck  me  as  strange  that  no  less  a  personage  than  Earl 
Granville,  who  has  had  charge  of  her  Majesty's  foreign 
affairs  and  been  leader  in  the  House  of  Lords,  should 
have  been  in  attendance  and  participated  in  these 
meetings.  The  company  also  had  the  attendance  of 
two  dukes ;  but  these  were  Lord  Granville's  compeers 
only  in  title.  All  of  the  three,  however,  rightfully 
claim  to  rank  with  us  as  iron-masters.  The  Bessemer 
medal  was  presented  this  year  to  Peter  Cooper,  of 
New  York,  much  to  the  honor  of  the  donors,  I  think. 
For  one  shilling,  any  one  curious  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  sights  of  this  London,  can  do  so  by  pur- 
chasing a  good-sized  volume — Dickens's  London.  A 
look  at  it  will  soon  satisfy  one  how  true  it  is  that 
compared  to  London  all  other  cities  are  but  villages. 
It  will  very  soon  count  four  millions  of  people  under  its 
sway.  Every  year  one  hundred  thousand  are  added  to 
the  mass,  and  not  even  depressed  times  seem  to  limit 


•? 


48  RoiLiid  the   World. 


this  increase.  The  reason  for  this  is  patent ;  there  is 
everything  here  that  there  is  elsewhere,  and  much  that 
can  be  found  nowhere  else  ;  in  every  department  of  life, 
for  earnest  work  in  any  special  line,  or  for  amusement 
— for  sight-seeing,  study,  or  fashion — it  is  here  that  the 
very  best  of  everything  is  concentrated  ;  the  very  cream 
of  all  the  world  is  here,  because  no  other  place  is  large 
enough  or  rich  enough  to  support  it.  To  know  the  best 
that  has  been  said  and  done  in  the  world  of  the  past  is 
no  doubt  much,  as  Matthew  Arnold  says,  but  there  is 
also  much  in  seeing  and  living  where  the  best  of  to-day 
is  said  and  done,  and  if  possible  in  the  company  of  those 
who  have  said  or  done  any  of  the  best  things  in  any 
line.  Life  with  godlike  men  on  earth  must  be  the  best 
preparative  for  companionship  hereafter.  This  is  pos- 
sible in  Britain  only  in  London,  for  the  celebrities  and 
their  works  are  centred  here.  An  unusually  large  pro- 
portion of  the  population  is  of  the  wealthy  classes,  for 
the  height  of  the  average  Briton's  ambition  is,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  essential  estate  in  the  country,  to  be  in  pos- 
session of  a  mansion  in  London.  After  these  are  ac- 
quired, and  his  wife  and  daughters  have  been  presented 
at  court,  any  after-successes  may  be  regarded  as  details 
w^hich  ornament  the  solid  edifice  of  position  attained ; 
and  truly,  as  far  as  I  have  seen  human  life  in  any  part 
of  the  world,  I  know  of  no  state  which  in  itself  seems 
capable  of  affording  so  much  pleasure — were  happiness 
dependent  upon  external  circumstances — as  that  which 


London.  349 

rewards  successful  Britons  when  with  their  usual  good 
sense  they  retire  from  business. 

If  the  owner  of  a  large  estate  in  Britain  with  its 
hundreds  of  people,  who  are  as  it  were,  under  his  care, 
its  pretty  quaint  villages  and  honeysuckled  cottages,  its 
running  brooks,  its  hedge-rows  and  green  fields,  all  giv- 
ing him  scope  for  change  and  improvement — if  such  a 
man  is  not  happy  and  does  not  enjoy  life,  let  him 
seek  for  some  more  favorable  conditions  in  some  other 
planet  than  this,  say  I.  I  must  not  attempt  to  follow 
our  steps  through  England  and  Scotland,  nor  to  tell 
you  of  the  cordial  welcomes  and  thousand  kind  atten- 
tions bestowed  upon  us.  We  spent  a  very,  very  happy 
month  among  dear  kind  friends,  and  never  enjoyed 
Merrie  England  more.  My  mother  and  Miss  F.  joined 
us  in  London,  and  took  care  of  us  until  we  sailed  for 
New  York,  which  we  did  by  the  new  Cunard  steamer 
Gallia,  June  14th,  reaching  New  York  on  the  24th, 
exactly  eight  months  from  the  day  we  sailed  out  of  the 
Golden  Gate.  And  now,  June  25th,  I  write  these  lines 
at  Cresson,  on  the  crest  of  the  Alleghanies,  having 
reached  our  starting  point  and  earned  our  right  to 
fellowship  with  the  favored  fraternity  of  globe-trot- 
ters. 

The  voyage  round  the  world  should  be  made  sail- 
ing westward  from  London  or  New  York,  as  this  gives 
the  traveller  the  prevailing  winds  in  his  favor  ;  at  least 
after  he  reaches  New  York,  for  the  Atlantic  is  never 


350  Round  the  Wo7' Id, 

quite  blessed  with  steady  winds  from  the  west.  The 
trade-winds  waft  the  traveller  on  his  way  when  he  goes 
toward  the  west ;  should  he  take  the  contrary  direction 
and  start  via  England  to  the  East,  he  must  experience 
many  rough  days  and  nights  upon  the  sea.  We  saw  the 
steamers  from  England  battling  against  the  monsoon, 
which  only  served  to  push  us  steadily  and  smoothly  on. 
Let  all  my  readers  make  due  note  of  this — westward, 
not  eastward.  Another  even  greater  advantage,  at 
least  to  those  who,  like  myself,  are  affected  by  heat,  is 
obtained  by  taking  the  westward  course :  the  various 
countries  can  be  visited  in  months  during  which  no 
extreme  heat  is  possible.  The  best  time  to  start  from 
San  Francisco  is  early  in  September,  so  that  Japan  is 
reached  about  the  first  of  October,  which  is  a  delightful 
month  in  that  pretty  toy-land,  neither  too  hot  nor  too 
cold.  A  month  will  enable  the  tourist  to  see  all  that  is 
specially  interesting — ^Yokohama,  Yeddo,  Kiobe,  Kioto, 
Osaka,  Nagasaki,  and  some  of  the  notable  inland  sights. 
This  brings  him  to  China  (Shanghai)  the  middle  of 
November.  After  a  few  days  there,  a  trip  up  the  Yang- 
tse,  on  one  of  the  excellent  American  style  of  river 
boats,  some  six  hundred  miles  to  Hang-Kow,  should 
not  be  missed,  as  one  gets  by  this  the  best  possible 
look  at  the  Chinese  at  home.  Hong  Kong,  the  next 
stage,  is  reached,  say  early  in  December.  Here  you  do 
Canton,  Macao,  and  other  interesting  points,  and  reach 
Singapore,  almost  at  the  equator,  and  eat  your  Christ- 


General   Conclitsions.  351 

mas  dinner  directly  below  your  friends  at  home.  If 
the  reports  from  Java  are  favorable,  a  tempting  ex- 
cursion to  that  interesting  island  can  be  made  from 
Singapore ;  but  when  we  were  at  Singapore  Europeans 
were  being  brought  there  from  Java,  and  hurried  north 
to  cool  places  as  the  only  cure  for  maladies  contracted 
in  that  island.  Therefore  we  abandoned  our  intended 
trip  thither. 

The  traveller  can  decide  whether  to  take  steamer 
from  Singapore  via  Bankok,  Siam,  and  do  that  coast  of 
Asia,  and  reach  Calcutta  from  the  west,  or  to  follow  our 
course  via  Ceylon.  If  he  has  plenty  of  time,  the  former 
may  enable  him  to  see  more  of  India;  but  our  ex- 
perience was  that  there  is  more  to  see  by  any  route 
than  can  be  properly  taken  in  upon  one  journey.  If  the 
wanderer  follow  us  to  Ceylon,  we  advise  him  to  cross 
from  Colombo  to  Southern  India  by  steamer  to  Philip- 
opolis,  and  go  up  through  Southern  India  by  land  to 
Madras,  as  this  will  give  him  an  opportunity  to  see  the 
strange  architecture  and  many  customs  peculiar  to  that 
region.  We  did  the  principal  sights  of  India,  but  we 
advise  any  of  our  readers  who  make  the  journey,  in- 
stead of  returning  from  Delhi  as  we  did,  to  go  further 
north  to  Amritsir,  and  as  far  toward  Cabool  as  the  rail 
may  extend.  Simla  upon  the  hills  should  also  be 
visited.  We  often  regret  that  we  had  not  a  week  or 
two  more  to  spend  in  India.  We  were  rather  late  in 
the  season,  and  Bombay  was  getting  hot — indeed,  it  is 


352  Roimd  the   World. 

always  rather  hot  anywhere  at  the  equator — but  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  hours  at  midday  no  great 
inconvenience  was  found,  and  the  nights  and  the  morn- 
ings were  pleasant. 

By  the  time  the  traveller  has  reached  Egypt,  and 
seen  Alexandria  and  Cairo,  he  will  be  disposed,  if  our 
condition  be  any  guide,  to  rest  and  be  thankful,  con- 
signing any  further  extended  travels  to  some  future 
time  when  he  has  fully  digested  what  he  has  gathered 
in  his  wanderings,  and  is  fresh.  When  he  touches  pretty 
Catania,  on  his  way  west,  he  will  feel  for  the  first  time 
that  he  is  once  more,  as  it  were,  at  home  among  his 
own  kith  and  kin,  and  has  been  quite  long  enough 
among  strangers.  Going  round  the  world  yields  one 
exquisite  pleasure  which  cannot  be  experienced  upon 
any  other  tour.  Our  way  over  the  long  seas  has  not 
to  be  retraced.  The  farther  we  go,  the  nearer  we 
come  to  home;  every  day's  journey  aw^ay  from  those 
we  love,  is  also  one  day's  step  nearer  to  them.  I 
think,  also,  that  no  amount  of  travel  in  detached  por- 
tions of  the  world  enables  one  to  contemplate  the  world 
and  the  human  race  as  a  whole.  One  must  traverse  the 
ball  round  and  round  to  arrive  at  a  broad,  liberal,  correct 
estimate  of  humanity — its  work,  its  aims,  its  destiny. 

Go,  therefore,  my  friends — all  you  who  are  so  situ- 
ated as  to  be  able  to  avail  yourselves  of  this  privilege — 
go  and  see  for  yourselves  how  greatly  we  are  bound  by 
prejudices,  how  checkered  and  uncertain  are  many  of 


General   Conclusions.  353 

our  own  advances,  how  very  nearly  all  is  balanced.  No 
nation  has  all  that  is  best,  neither  is  any  bereft  of  some 
advantages,  and  no  nation,  or  tribe,  or  people  is  so  un- 
happy that  it  would  be  willing  to  exchange  its  condi- 
tion for  that  of  any  other.  See,  also,  that  in  every 
society  there  are  many  individuals  distinguished  for 
traits  of  character  which  place  them  upon  a  par  with 
the  best  and  highest  we  know  at  home,  and  that 
such  are  everywhere  regarded  with  esteem,  and  held 
up  as  models  for  lower  and  baser  natures  to  emulate. 

The  traveller  will  not  see  in  all  his  wanderings  so 
much  abject,  repulsive  misery  among  human  beings  in 
the  m.ost  heathen  lands,  as  that  which  startles  him  in 
his  civilized  Christian  home,  for  nowhere  are  the  ex- 
tremes of  wealth  and  poverty  so  painfully  presented. 
He  will  learn,  too,  if  he  be  observant,  that  very  little  is 
required  after  all  to  make  mankind  happy,  and  that  the 
prizes  of  life  v/orth  contending  for  are,  generally  speak- 
ing, within  the  reach  of  the  great  mass. 

Did  you  ever  sum  up  these  prizes  and  think  how 
very  little  the  millionaire  has  beyond  the  peasant,  and 
how  very  often  his  additions  tend  not  to  happiness  but 
to  misery !  What  constitutes  the  choice  food  of  the 
world  ?  Plain  beef,  common  vegetables  and  bread,  and 
the  best  of  all  fruits — the  apple ;  the  only  nectar 
bubbles  from  the  brook  without  money  and  without 
price.  All  that  our  race  eats  or  drinks  beyond  this 
range  must  be  inferior,  if  not  positively  injurious. 
23 


354  Round  the  World. 

Dress — what  man,  or  rather  what  woman  wears — is  less 
and  less  comfortable  in  proportion  to  its  frills  and  its 
cost,  and  no  jewel  is  so  refined  as  the  simple  flower  in 
the  hair,  which  the  village  maid  has  for  the  plucking. 
All  that  women  overload  themselves  with  beyond  this 
range  is  a  source  of  unhappiness.  To  be  the  most 
simply  attired  is  to  be  the  most  elegantly  dressed.  So 
much  for  true  health  and  happiness  in  all  that  we  eat, 
and  drink,  and  wear. 

If  we  extend  the  inquiry  to  the  luxuries  and  adorn- 
ments of  life,  is  there  any  music — which  of  course  comes 
first — comparable  in  grandeur  to  that  of  the  wave,  stir- 
ring the  sou],  with  its  mighty  organ  tones  as  it  breaks 
upon  the  beach,  or  any  so  exquisitely  fine  as  that  of  the 
murmuring  brook  which  sings  its  song  forever  to  every 
listener  upon  its  banks,  while  above  birds  warble  and 
the  zephyr  plays  its  divine  accompaniment  among  the 
trees!  We  spend  fortunes  for  picture-galleries,  but 
what  are  the  tiny  painted  copies  compared  to  the 
great  originals,  the  mountains,  the  glens,  the  streams 
and  waterfalls,  the  fertile  fields,  the  breezy  downs, 
the  silver  sea !  These  are  the  gems  of  the  universal 
gallery,  the  common  heritage  of  man,  the  property  of 
the  humblest  who  has  eyes  to  see,  and  as  free  as  the  air 
we  breathe.  We  have  our  conservatories  and  spend 
our  thousands  upon  orchids,  but  which  of  nature's 
smiles  ranks  with  the  rose  and  the  mignonette,  the  daisy 
and  the  bluebell,  and  the  sweet  forget-me-not  blooming 


General   Conchisioiis.  355 

for  all  earth's  children,  and  which  grow  upon  the 
window-sill  of  the  artisan  and  which  the  laborer  blesses 
at  his  cottage  door ! 

If  we  go  higher  still  in  the  scale,  we  find  that  the 
companionship  of  the  gods  is  not  denied  to  the  steady 
wage-receiving  man,  for  Shakespeare  and  our  Burns  and 
our  Scott  can  be  had  for  sixpence  per  volume.  In 
this  blessed  age  in  which  we  are  privileged  to  live 
even  the  immortals  are  cheap  and  visit  the  toiler.  We 
see  the  rich  rolling  over  the  land  in  their  carriages,  but 
blessed  beyond  these  is  the  man  who  strolls  along  the 
hedge-rows.  The  connoisseur  in  his  gallery  misses  the 
health-giving  breeze  which  brings  happiness  to  the  de- 
votee who  seeks  the  original  afield.  The  lady  in  her 
overheated  conservatory  knows  nothing  of  the  joyous 
rapture  of  her  more  fortunate  sister  who  gathers  the 
spoils  of  the  glen.  Ah,  my  friends,  ponder  well  over 
this  truth :  the  more  one  dwells  with  her,  the  more  one 
draws  from  her,  the  closer  one  creeps  to  her  bosom,  the 
sweeter  is  nature's  kiss.  From  man's  neglect  of  her  for 
meaner  substitutes  come  most  of  the  disappointment 
and  unhappiness  of  life.  The  masses  of  mankind  are 
happy  all  round  the  world  because  their  pleasures  are 
drawn  so  largely  from  sources  which  lie  open  to  all. 
The  rich  are  not  to  be  envied,  for  truly  "  there  is  no 
purchase  in  money "  of  any  real  happiness.  When 
used  for  our  own  gratification,  it  injures  us ;  when 
used  ostentatiously,  it  brings   care ;    when  hoarded,  it 


356  Round  the   World, 

narrows  the  soul.  Nature  has  not  provided  a  means 
by  which  any  man  can  use  riches  for  selfish  purposes 
without  suffering  therefrom.  There  is  only  one  source 
of  true  blessedness  in  wealth,  and  that  comes  from 
giving  it  away  for  ends  that  tend  to  elevate  our 
brothers  and  enable  them  to  share  it  with  us.  Nature 
is  gloriously  communistic  after  all,  God  bless  her !  and 
sees  that  a  pretty  fair  division  is  made,  let  man  hoard 
as  he  may.  The  secret  of  happiness  is  renuncia- 
tion. 

Another  advantage  to  be  derived  from  a  journey 
round  the  world  is,  I  think,  that  the  sense  of  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  the  unity  of  the  race,  is  very 
greatly  strengthened  thereby,  for  one  sees  that  the  vir- 
tues are  the  same  in  all  lands,  and  produce  their  good 
fruits,  and  render  their  possessors  blessed  in  Benares  and 
Kioto  as  in  London  or  New  York ;  that  the  vices,  too, 
are  akin,  and  also  that  the  motives  which  govern  men 
and  their  actions  and  aims  are  very  much  the  same 
the  world  over.  In  their  trials  and  sufferings,  as  in 
their  triumphs  and  rejoicings,  men  do  not  differ,  and 
so  the  heart  swells  and  the  sympathies  extend,  and 
we  embrace  all  men  in  our  thoughts,  leaving  not  one 
outside  the  range  of  our  solicitude  and  wishing  every 
one  well.  The  Japanese,  Chinese,  Cingalese,  Indians, 
Egyptians,  all  have  been  made  our  friends  through 
individuals  of  each  race  of  whom  we  have  heard  much 
that  was  good  and  noble,  pure  lives,  high  aims,  good 


General   Conclusions.  357 

deeds,  and  how  can  we,  therefore,  any  longer  dwell 
apart,  believing  our  own  land  or  our  own  people  in 
any  respect  the  chosen  of  God !  No,  no  ;  we  know 
now  in  a  sense  much  more  vivid  than  before  that 
all  the  children  of  the  earth  dwell  under  the  reign  of 
the  same  divine  law,  and  that  for  each  and  every 
one  that  law  evolves  through  all  the  ages,  the  higher 
from  the  lower,  the  good  from  evil,  slowly  but  surely 
separating  the  dross  from  the  pure  gold,  disintegrating 
what  is  pernicious,  consolidating  what  is  beneficial  to 
the  race,  so  that  the  feeling  that  formerly  told  us  that 
we  alone  had  special  care  bestowed  upon  us  gives 
place  to  the  knowledge  that  every  one  in  his  day 
and  generation,  wherever  found,  receives  the  truth 
best  fitted  for  his  elevation  from  that  state  to  the  next 
higher,  and  so 

"  Ilka  blade  of  grass  keps  its  ain  drap  o'  dew," 

and  grows  its  own  fruit  after  its  kind.  For  these 
and  many  other  reasons,  let  all  thoughtful  souls  follow 
my  example  and  visit  their  brethren  from  one  land  to 
another  till  the  circle  is  complete. 

The  unprecedented  advance  made  by  western  na- 
tions in  the  past  and  present  generations,  upon  which 
we  continually  plume  ourselves,  is  shared  by  the 
world  in  general.  Wherever  we  have  been,  one  story 
met  us.  Everywhere  there  is  progress,  not  only  ma- 
terial but  intellectual  as  well,  and  rapid   progress  too. 


358     •  Round  the    World. 

The  oldest  inhabitant  has  always  his  comparison  to  offer 
between  the  days  of  his  youth  and  the  advantages  pos- 
sessed by  the  youth  of  to-day.  Matters  are  not  as  they 
were.  We  saw  no  race  which  had  retrograded,  if  we 
except  Egypt,  which  is  now  in  a  transitional  state,  and 
will  ultimately  prove  no  exception  to  the  rule.  The 
whole  world  moves,  and  moves  in  the  right  direction — up- 
ward and  onward — the  things  that  are  better  than  those 
that  have  been  and  those  to  come  to  be  better  than 
those  of  to-day.  The  law  of  evolution — the  higher  from 
the  lower — is  not  discredited  by  a  voyage  round  the 
world  and  the  knowledge  of  what  is  transpiring  from 
New  York  round  to  New  York  again  gives  us  joy  this 
morning  as  we  sum  it  all  up. 

The  trip  has  been  without  a  single  unpleasant  inci- 
dent. We  have  not  missed  one  connection,  nor  ever 
been  beyond  the  reach  of  all  the  comforts  of  life,  nor 
have  we  had  one  unhappy  or  even  lonely  hour. 
Every  day  has  brought  something  new  or  interesting. 
And  sitting  here  in  our  quiet  mountain  home  this  morn- 
ing, I  feel  that  there  is  scarcely  a  prize  that  could  be 
offered  for  which  I  would  exchange  the  knowledge 
obtained  and  the  memories  of  things  seen  during  my 
trip.  One  of  the  great  pleasures  of  travel  in  the  East  is 
the  unbounded  hospitality — excessive  kindness — every- 
where met  with.  Will  the  numerous  kind  friends  to 
whom  we  are  so  deeply  indebted — a  host  far  too  great 
to  name — please  accept  this  general  acknowledgment 


General  Conclusions.  359 

as  at  least  a  slight  evidence  that  their  goodness  to  us  is 
not  unappreciated?  At  every  stage  of  our  travels  I 
have  been  struck  with  the  cheering  thought,  that 
notwithstanding  the  indisputable  fact  that  a  vast 
amount  of  misery  seems  inseparable  from  human  life, 
still  the  general  condition  of  mankind  is  a  happy  one. 
Even  the  Hindoo  in  India,  or  the  Malay  in  the  Archi- 
pelago— and  these  seem  to  exist  under  the  worst  con- 
ditions— each  of  these  constantly  sees  cause  to  bless  his 
good  fortune  and  render  thanks — sincere,  heartfelt 
thanks — to  a  kind  Providence  for  casting  his  life  in 
pleasant  places,  and  not  in  damp,  foggy  England,  or 
amid  American  frosts  and  snows.  We  have  their 
sincere  sympathy,  I  assure  you.  Nor  is  patriotism  a 
peculiarly  western  virtue.  No  matter  who  or  what  he  is, 
the  man  of  the  East  in  his  heart  exalts  his  own  country 
and  his  own  race,  and  esteems  them  specially  favored 
of  the  gods.  And  indeed  it  is  with  nations  as  with 
individuals:  as  none  are  entirely  good,  so  none  are 
entirely  bad.  The  unseen  power  is  at  work  in  all  lands, 
evolving  the  higher  from  the  lower  and  steadily  improv- 
ing all,  so  the  traveller  finds  much  to  commend  in  every 
country,  and  seeing  this  he  grows  tolerant  and  liberal, 
and  able  more  heartily  to  sing  with  Burns — 

"  Then  let  us  pray  that  come  it  may — 
As  come  it  will,  for  a'  that — 
That  sense  and  worth,  o'er  a'  the  earth, 
May  bear  the  gree,  for  a'  that ; 


360  Round  the    World. 

For  a'  that,  and  a'  that, 

It's  coming  yet,  for  a'that. 
That  man  to  man,  the  warld  o'er 

Shall  brothers  be,  for  a'  that." 

In  which  hope,  nay,  in  the  confident  and  inspiring 
belief  in  the  sure  coming  of  the  day  of  the  Brother- 
hood of  Man,  I  lay  down  my  pen  and  bring  to  a  close 
this  record  of  my  tour  round  the  world. 


RARE  BOOK 
COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UiMVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT 

CHAPEL  HILL 

Travel 

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